Living Without You
by erfan18
Summary: Unable to deal with his fathers disapproval, Ryan makes a choice...
1. Chapter 1

Living Without You

**Well seeing as this is my first foray back into writing I thought I'd start out with a Kelsi/Ryan story. I might have used some of the plot line from various things like the video to Green Day's song "When September ends" but its good in its own right.**

**Enjoy. Oh and I don't own HSM or Green Day :)**

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Ryan sat in his room looking over the letter that he had just received.

"Well, I guess its official" he said to himself, as he folded it up and went to his father's study. His heart was pounding as he knocked on the door.

"Enter" responded a voice from the other side "Ah. Ryan my boy, how are you doing?" His father asked, smiling and gesturing for Ryan to sit down in the chair across from his desk.

"Good dad, I guess" Ryan answered uncertainly.

"Great, how's Kelsi?" Vance asked cheerfully, smiling at the thought of the small composer, who would hopefully become his daughter in law one day.

"She's good dad" He paused for a moment swallowing a big lump in his throat and hoping what he was about to say came out clear enough

"Dad, we need to talk" he said, his voice shaking.

"What is it son, is everything okay?" Vance asked, noting his son's fear

"Everything is fine. It's just…" Ryan continued speaking, and a few moments later he left his dad's office, holding back tears. He headed downstairs when he was confronted by a very upset and on the verge of tears Sharpay

"Tell me it isn't true" Sharpay requested, her quavering voice barely audible

"I'm sorry. It is true" Ryan answered, being bluntly honest with her.

"How could you do this to me? How could you do this to Kelsi!" Sharpay asked, as she started to cry.

"I did it so that I could finally prove myself to this family!" Ryan shouted, almost startling himself.

"Well I hope you're happy" Sharpay shrieked, and she stomped away in tears.

Ryan hung his head, he didn't like yelling at his sister but it was true. Ever since he graduated from high school and got his scholarship it seemed like his whole family was disappointed in him. His father wanted him to be part of the business not a singer and dancer. So Ryan figured this was the only way that his father would accept him for who he is. He soon found his mother and after trying to console her crying, he went to his room and flopped down on his bed.

"Now to tell her" he said, his hands shaking as he scrolled through the list of names on his phone and found her, it rang twice and then she picked up

"Hi Ryan" she said, sounding very happy to hear from him.

"Hey baby, what are you doing?" he asked

"Oh just folding some laundry. I've been slacking on laundry lately and I'm paying for it. I'm just trying to get it all together before we leave for New York" she said, trying to find a match for a sock

"Yeah, I've barely started packing myself. What are you doing afterwards?" he asked

"Oh, I don't know. I'm hoping to see my favorite person in the world" She said biting back a smile

"Oh so you and Troy have got something planned" he teased

"Very funny Ryan" she laughed

"Well I've got some things to finish up here, let's have tea later or something" he said looking at his clock on his wall

"Sure, I should be done in a half an hour or so" She said putting a pile of shirts in her drawer

"Great I'll see you at the coffee shop later then, love you" he said

"I love you too" she answered, hanging up the phone. Avoiding his family, Ryan headed downstairs and grabbed the keys to his vespa, heading out for a drive. He didn't care where he was going, as long as it wasn't around his family.

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**So what is Ryan up to and why is his family so upset? Find out in the next exciting chapter!!**


	2. Chapter 2

Living Without You

Pt 2

**Well I'm glad that ya'll enjoyed the first chapter so here is the exciting new one.**

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Kelsi was walking to the coffee shop, lost in thought. She was wondering what their life would be like, now that the two of them would be starting Julliard. She frowned a little, unsure whether Ryan would still want a relationship, or if he would break up with her. It would hurt if he found someone else, especially if the hypothetical woman was like Sharpay. She shuddered at the thought, imagining Ryan and another woman misusing her songs.

She realized that she was just about to walk past the coffee shop, and shook off her thoughts hurriedly, looking up to see Ryan waiting for her inside. He smiled at her and held up two cups up. She didn't know how he did it to her but every time she saw him all her troubles and cares just melted away, She made her way over to him hastily, and Ryan put the cups down and surrounded her in a big hug, resting his chin on the top of her head for a brief moment.

"Hi, Ry." She said softly, loving the feel of his warm arms around her. Ryan let go of her reluctantly, and pulled out her chair.

"Hey, Kel" he responded, and she smiled at his chivalry as she sat down.

"One hot green tea for you with a little bit of sweetener" he said handing her the hot cup

"Thanks, Ry" she smiled while taking the lid off and inhaling the aroma of the drink "This is just what I needed, all this packing and getting stuff ready for college is exhausting" she said, taking a small sip

"I know, it will be here before we know it" he answered, looking into her eyes. Kelsi noticed something was a little off and she hoped he was just nervous about college, like she was.

"Is everything okay, Ryan?" she asked, a little worried

"Hmm?" He looked up from his cup

"You seem a little preoccupied, is something on your mind?" she asked

"No, it's just sitting here with you… it's nice" he answered. Kelsi swallowed hard, she knew it was coming, he was going to break up with her, he must have just wanted to spare her the heartache of doing it while they were in college

"Listen...Kels" he said, dreading the words he knew were about to come out of his mouth

"Yes?" she asked fear coursing through every vein in her body

"Would you like some more tea?" He said, mentally kicking himself for not coming out and telling her. He was oh so confident when it came to dance but it seemed in life he was just a big chicken.

"No I'm good" she replied, and she smiled weakly, wondering what was going on with Ryan, he seemed so inattentive as if something huge was on his mind. They talked for hours about little things, like where in the college they'd be living and when they would be leaving.

Ryan had just noticed it was almost 9 o'clock, and he wondered where the time had gone. It seemed that time always flew by when he was with Kelsi.

"Wow, it's already getting late" she said, looking at her watch

"I know," he smiled "Lets go for a walk or something, I think the manager wants to close up now" he said, seeing the barista constantly looking at his watch and then looking at the two of them. He picked up their cups and threw them in the garbage can, and then locked up his Vespa.

"Aww," she pouted "No ride?"

"No I thought we could enjoy the cool night air" he smiled, taking her hand and heading away from the coffee shop. It seemed like hours later when they finally came to a stop at a small park a few blocks away from Kelsi's house, and Ryan sat down on a bench, taking Kelsi's hand and tugging her down beside him. He looked deep into her eyes, pushing aside a stray brown curl. He would always remember her this way no matter what came next in their life, Kelsi meant the world to him and he would never forget her… which made what he was about to say even more difficult.

"Penny for your thoughts" she asked loving the attention he was giving her, even as she wondered whether he was going to break up with her.

"Nothing" he smiled "I'm just memorizing your face, so I'll see you this way for as long as I can" he admitted softly.

Kelsi was nervous, if he was going to break up with her then he might as well tell her, because she couldn't take the suspense anymore

"Ryan, is there something you want to tell me?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. Ryan took her hand and looked deep into her eyes, almost wanting to cry.

"I did something you need to know about" he sighed, swallowing a lump in his throat

"If you're going to break up with me, Ryan Evans, just tell me, cause I can't handle all this pussyfooting around" she said, looking into his deep blue eyes

"No" he laughed weakly "I'm not going to break up with you, I've done something that might make you a little more angry then me breaking up with you" he said unhappily, and took a deep breath in.

"I joined the army" he continued, holding on tightly to her small hands

"Very cute Ryan" she laughed "An Evans would never be caught dead in camouflage, according to Sharpay" she said, still chuckling over her silly boyfriend.

"It's true, I report for basic training next week" he said, and Kelsi heard the utter seriousness in his tone.

"Ryan? Please tell me that you're joking" Kelsi said, dropping his hands, as tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm not, I wanted to do it to prove to my family that I'm not a loser" he said standing up and putting a hand through his hair

"But you're not a loser, why would you even say that?" Kelsi asked, still seated on the bench

"You saw the look on my dad's face when he found out I was going to Julliard, it was of pure disappointment" he replied

"Who cares, Ryan, your dad should be proud of you no matter what" she said

"Well doing this will prove to him that I'm better then what he thinks of me" he said angry at his dad

"Ryan please, don't do this" Kelsi begged, feeling sick to her stomach "I beg of you, there's a war going on, and they'll send you away."

"I'm sorry Kelsi, it's just something I have to do" he stated sadly.

"You're not even going to consider my feelings, are you." she said, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her.

"But Kels" he said, and Kelsi glared at him in disbelief.

"Don't 'But Kels' me, Ryan Evans." She said, angrily. "I can't believe you'd do this to me, to us"

Seeing that Ryan wasn't going to change his mind, she released his chin and turned away,

"Kelsi don't walk away" he said, starting after her

"Leave me alone" she snapped, picking up her pace and starting to run. She ran all the way to her house, hoping that Ryan wasn't following her. How could he do this to her? Just leave her like that, they were supposed to go to Julliard together, they were supposed to be the newest things on Broadway. This wasn't the way things were supposed to happen.

She reached her house and ran straight up to her room, she was never so happier that her mother wasn't home. She couldn't deal with talking to anyone at the moment, she just wanted to cry in her room. She reached her room and flopped down on her bed, she didn't really cry, all she did was stare up at the ceiling, wondering why he couldn't of just broken up with her. That would have been easier to handle, but no, he broke her heart in a completely different way, he was going to leave her and possibly never come back.

* * *

She must have dozed off, because it was daytime when she heard her phone ring.

"It better not be you, Evans" she said, putting her glasses on and glaring at the phone. It was an Evans all right, but it wasn't Ryan, it was Sharpay.

"Hello?" she asked, wondering what Sharpay wanted now.

"Hey Kelsi" Sharpay said in a sweet voice that Kelsi wasn't exactly used to

"Umm… hi, Sharpay" Kelsi said mentally checking to make sure that it was actually Sharpay Evans and not a bad imposter

"Look I know what's going on with you and Ryan right now" she said sadly

"You do?" Kelsi answered, scared that Sharpay had taken Ryan's side and was calling Kelsi to tell her off for not supporting him

"Yeah I was just wondering if you wanted someone to talk to" Sharpay answered

"Um sure" Kelsi answered

"All right I'll be over in an hour, okay?" Sharpay asked

"Umm… Sure, I'll see you then" Kelsi said as she hung up the phone. She wondered briefly if she was still dreaming, because it seemed so strange that Sharpay would be this nice to her without wanting something in return. She was about to head to the shower when she heard her phone ring again

"Now who" she mumbled to herself picking up her phone, it was Gabriella she smiled at her name and pressed the green button to answer the phone

"Hey Gab" she said answering the phone

"Hey Kels, Sharpay just called and told me what happened, are you okay?" Gabriella asked, it sounded like she was crying

"I'm not sure yet, I mean, I just ran away from him Gabriella" Kelsi said

"I know honey, but he has his reasons I guess, listen I'm coming over with Sharpay, and so is Martha and Taylor. Maybe we can all talk about it together, is that all right?" Gabriella asked gently.

"Sure I just have to get in the shower and clean up first" Kelsi said staring at the towel she had in her hands

"All right, I'll see you in a little bit then" Gabriella said, before hanging up the phone

"This was going to be a long day" Kelsi said hanging up the phone turning on her Rent CD and heading towards the shower


	3. Chapter 3

Living Without You

Part 3

**I'm enjoying all the reviews guys keep em coming :). Oh and I don't own neither HSM or Rent but they are my two favorite musicals of all time**

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Stepping out of her shower, Kelsi heard the tune of one her favorite songs from Rent. 'Without You' it was called, and it seemed to fit so perfectly with her situation.

"_Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash._

_The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you._

_The moon glows, the river flows, but I'd die, without you." _

The heartbroken voice sang, and it seemed almost appropriate, all these things would go on in her life. She'd be going to college, she'd be living her life and all other things will be normal, but her life would never be the same without Ryan. She sighed and slipped on her usual wardrobe, a nice floppy newsboy hat, a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She headed downstairs and saw a note on the banister that read

"Went to work early, be home later tonight. Love mom"

Kelsi crumpled up the note, throwing it in the garbage can on her way into the kitchen.

"Great. The one person that I could cry to without looking silly, and she left" Kelsi fixed herself some tea and toast and sat down at her table by herself.

"Well, better get used to this Kelsi, it looks like we'll be this way for the rest of our lives." She finished her breakfast and as if right on cue her doorbell rang.

"Here we go" she said, straightening her clothes and heading to the door.

"Hey Kelsi" Martha said, seeing her sad face and reaching in to give her a hug.

"Thanks" Kelsi replied, letting go of her.

"No problem. I figured you really needed it" Martha said, coming into the house.

"Where are the other girls?" Kelsi asked, looking around outside before shutting her door.

"Oh, they went to get some provisions, you know like ice cream cookies, all the essential junk food" Martha said smiling

"So how are you feeling?" Martha asked, sitting down and patting the spot next to her. Kelsi sat down and rested her head on Martha's shoulder.

"Why do we have to grow up, Martha?" she asked sadly.

"It just something we all do, the real world sucks," Martha said, stroking her hair gently.

"It will be okay Kelsi, I know it" Martha finished.

"I hope you're right Martha, for all our sakes" Kelsi said, getting up off the couch to answer the doorbell.

There stood Sharpay, Gabriella and Taylor, each carrying big bags full of junk food.

"Hey guys" Kelsi said, opening the door to let them in. They all headed into the kitchen, laying the bags on the counters.

"So we got chips, chocolate covered pretzels, popcorn, cookies and Ben and Jerry's ice cream" Taylor said giving her a half smile,

"and I called the pizza guy to come over later with some calzones." She took one look at Kelsi and enveloped her in a hug "I'm really sorry, Hon."

"Thanks" Kelsi answered weakly, trying not to cry.

"So" Sharpay said, trying to avoid the overdramatic scene that was sure to follow "You got any good chick flicks?"

"Yeah, let me just get this stuff in the refrigerator" Kelsi said, unpacking the stuff and putting it in the fridge.

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Ryan was just getting out of the shower, when he heard the phone ring. Knowing that he and Sharpay were the only ones home, he called out of his room

"Sharpay, you want to answer that?" when he didn't hear a reply, he picked it up himself.

"Hello?" he said, wondering where Sharpay was.

"Hey, Evans" came the voice on the other end. It was Troy.

"Hi Troy what's up?" he asked, a little confused. It wasn't often that Troy called him, if he did it was mostly about a show, but why would he be calling now?

"I think we need to talk" Troy said lowly.

"About?" Ryan questioned

"Gabriella told me what you're doing, now I'm not against it, but you're breaking our playmakers heart" Troy said.

"Troy, it's just something I have to do" Ryan said, defending himself.

"Well, I think we need to get together, just us guys. Besides, I already have Chad over here and he's already talking about hiding your body" Troy joked. Ryan laughed, forgetting how much the basketball team had always protected Kelsi, as if she was their little sister.

"Alright, I'll just have to let Sharpay know that you guys are coming over" Ryan said

"Oh, it's alright. Gabriella told me that the girls are getting together too, over at Kelsi's" Troy answered

"Okay" Ryan said, a little confused, knowing it usually took a lot to get Sharpay to hang around the other girls.

"I just have to do a few things, I should be free after 3 o'clock" Ryan finished.

"Alright we'll see you then" Troy said, hanging up the phone.

Ryan hung up the phone and laughed to himself, it was going to be a long day and hopefully he'd make it through, without the East High basketball team killing him. He put some clothes on and headed out to his Vespa, unlocking it and putting his helmet on. He drove into town to the barber shop, and headed inside

"Hello young man" said the older looking man as he walked in.

"Hi sir, I was wondering if you could give me a quick hair cut" Ryan asked nervously, but there was no turning back.

"Sure, what do you need? A little off the top?" the older man asked, patting the barber's chair and pulling out his equipment.

"Well…" Ryan said, a little unsure but he went with it anyway

"All of it" he finished, sitting down.

"Sure thing, sir," the old man said, pulling out his clippers,

"you joining the army or something?" he joked

"Actually sir, yes. I report for basic training next week" Ryan said

"Well lemme tell you something. I did two tours in Vietnam and it was hell, so you be careful out there, it's a whole different type of war over there" the old man said as he started up the clippers. A few minutes later Ryan was clean shaven. As he ran a hand through his stubble, he felt a little upset.

"You okay, son?" the man asked

"Yeah, I'm just in shock" Ryan said

"Yeah, that's how I first felt when they first gave me the shave. It'll pass" he said, taking off the smock Ryan was wearing. Ryan got up and pulled out his wallet, paying him and heading towards the door.

"Take care of yourself over there" The old man said, taking his money and putting it in the register.

Ryan got back out to his Vespa and started it up while putting his helmet on, it seemed even bigger now that he didn't have any hair on his head. He got back to his house, seeing Troy's truck in his drive way, he laughed. If there was one thing that Troy would have to promise him, it would be that he'd get that thing fixed before he came home. He pulled up next to him, got off the Vespa and took off his helmet.

"Wow" Troy said, taking in Ryan's newly shaved dome.

"What?" Ryan asked, looking at Troy's startled face.

"Nothing, its just so weird to see you like that" Troy said, stifling a laugh. Ryan put his bike up, and the other boys pulled up, as shocked as Troy had been to see Ryan's shaved head.

"Wow Evans, that's a different look" Chad said

"Well, I figured I'd see how it looked before I left" Ryan said, rubbing the top of his bald head and smiling "So come on in guys" he finished, heading towards his front door. He let them all in and showed them towards the living room "Does anyone want anything?" Ryan asked

"No thanks" they all answered in unison.

"Ryan, you should sit down" Jason said, and caught everyone off guard

"Okay" Ryan said, a little surprised. Jason was always the jokester and was never this serious.

"We know you must have done this for a reason, and we're not knocking it, its just we're all thinking of your well being" Jason said sternly.

"Guys, I'll be just fine" Ryan said, laughing a little.

"Ryan, you know there is a war going on, two of em right?" Zeke stated

"I'm well aware Zeke, I do watch the news" Ryan said.

"Well, we don't want to lose you" Chad said.

"I know, but nothing will happen to me" Ryan laughed

"This is not a joke, Ryan" Troy said "This is a dangerous time we live in, and going looking for trouble is just stupid" he finished.

"You guys don't understand. Your parents are proud of you, you're doing the things that they've always wanted you to do. My father thinks I'm some sort of fag for singing and dancing, I just want to prove to him that I'm a man" Ryan said his face getting heated.

The boys were all in shock, they've never seen Ryan get this heated and it kind of scared them.

"We understand" Troy said.

"Do you?" Ryan asked getting more and more worked up "Do you really understand, basketball boy?"

"Yes I do, do you think my father likes when I sing or dance?" Troy asked, getting a little worked up

"No he doesn't" he snapped before Ryan could answer him "but I did it anyway, I did it no matter what he thinks and that's what we're trying to convey to you, is that you should do what your heart tells you to do, not what everyone else thinks you should do, especially your dad".

"I'm sorry but I've already made up my mind" Ryan said getting up to head to the kitchen, leaving the rest of the boys stunned.

"What are we going to do?" Chad asked the rest of them.

"I don't know guys, all I know is that he can't leave without patching things up with Kelsi" Troy said

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At Kelsi's house, things were going a little better. The girls had all sprawled out in her living room, talking about various things when Gabriella's phone rang

"Excuse me" she said as she walked out of the room and headed outside. She flipped open her phone and smiled, knowing it was Troy.

"Hey babe" he said

"Hey wildcat" Gabriella answered "Are you at Ryan's?" she asked

"Yeah, he shaved his head" Troy said, trying not to be too loud.

"Wow I guess that means he's getting serious" Gabriella said, a little upset knowing that Ryan was more and more serious about leaving.

"Listen Ryan's coming back in, I don't think we're gonna change his mind" Troy said quietly "If we can't get him to stay, we should at least get him and Kelsi back on speaking terms"

"What do you have in mind?" Gabriella asked

"I don't know, get her to talk about Ryan or something and convince her to call him" Troy said

"I can't make any promises, wildcat, but I'll try" Gabriella said

"Okay, I love you" Troy said

"I love you too" she answered, hanging up. Gabriella headed back to Kelsi's living room

"Troy says hi" Gabriella said, setting her phone down on the table. Kelsi smiled, thinking of her adopted big brother and how he was always thinking of everyone else. He was not a lunkhead basketball boy, who's only concern was shooting baskets, as Taylor used to say.

"So are you at least going to talk to him?" Taylor asked Kelsi.

"I don't know, Tay" Kelsi said, playing with a piece of popcorn "I don't even know if he wants to talk to me"

"Kelsi, he's scared. He's gonna need you to be there for him, otherwise he'll just be lost" Sharpay stated "I know my brother better than any of you, and I know for sure that the one thing that will get him through anything is a strong support system, and you're his main source of inspiration, Kels"

"I don't know, Sharpay" Kelsi said, looking down

"Listen to me girl. I may not know Ryan as much as you all do, but I can tell that he's scared. He needs you to be there for him and support him" Gabriella said.

"Are you sure?" Kelsi asked

"Positive" Gabriella said, handing Kelsi her phone. "call him" she smiled.

"Fine, but if he hangs up on me, I'm blaming it all on you three." Kelsi stated, taking the phone and heading to her room.

"You think it will work?" Martha asked,

"I hope so" Taylor said, watching Kelsi leave the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Living WIthout You

Part 4

**Okay guys, here's the next chapter.**

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Kelsi headed up to her room with her phone in her hand. As she reached her door, she stared at the small device in her hand.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself, tossing the phone onto her desk and knocking a bunch of sheet music onto the floor.

"Damn!" She cursed loudly. She bent over to pick them up and found the one song that she had not wished to find, 'I just want to be with you'.

"Ha!" she scoffed "Apparently it only means 'I just want to be with you until I run off and get myself killed'" Kelsi mused to herself.

She picked up all the papers and sat down, staring at her phone.

"Come on Kels, call him before he leaves and you regret it" She said, picking up her phone and going through her numbers till she reached Ryan's number

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Back at Ryan's house, Ryan and the boys were sitting around his dining room table, playing poker and eating pizza. It seemed to be the only thing that they could get Ryan to do, since he didn't feel like going outside and there was no basketball court.

"Alright Ryan" Chad said, passing the cards around. "If I win this hand, you call Kelsi" he smirked, knowing nobody was better at poker than he was.

"Now that's not fair, Chad" Ryan answered "You're too good, you've won almost every hand"

"You never know Ryan, Chad can't win a hundred percent of the time" Troy grinned, knowing Chad was up to something.

"Alright Chad, you're on" Ryan said, as he glanced down at his cards. He was surprised to see that he had two pairs. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Kelsi, he just didn't want to lose. He glanced over at Chad who had a blank face, indicating that he had one heck of a poker face. Troy, Jason, and Zeke had all laid down their cards, indicating that they didn't want any part in this hand, and they let Chad and Ryan duke it out.

"Alright, Evans" Chad said "how many do you want?"

Ryan put down two cards, and looked up "Two please" he answered.

Chad passed him two cards and put down two out of his own hand.

"And I'll take two also" he said, putting the fresh cards in his hand.

Ryan sighed, these cards were no better than the ones he originally had. He looked over to Chad to see if he had any luck, but Chad still sat there stone faced, not giving anything away.

"Well, let's see what you've got" Chad said. Ryan put down his cards and hoped it was good enough

"Two pairs" he responded.

"Wow, that's a hard one to beat" Chad muttered, Ryan smiled, he'd won. He felt on top of the world…

"But I think this should do it" Chad grinned, laying down his cards, showing that he had a flush.

"Well, I guess you win again" Ryan laughed, taking his lumps "Excuse me guys" he said, taking his phone and heading up to his father's office to call Kelsi.

"So are you going to tell him you cheated?" Troy laughed, as he saw Chad pull out the cards he had palmed out of his sleeves.

"Hey, he's going to talk to Kelsi, right?" Chad said "I'm just doing whatever it takes to get him to talk to her" he finished, starting up a new game.

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Ryan got to his father's office, sat down in his big desk chair, and pulled out his cell phone. He looked through his numbers until he finally got to Kelsi's number. He was about to hit send when it suddenly went off. It startled him but he laughed when he saw that it was Kelsi calling him. He hit the enter button.

"Do you have ESP or something?" Ryan laughed

Kelsi was caught off guard "What was so funny?" She thought to herself, smiling

"I guess so, I take it you were about to call me?" She asked

"Actually yeah" Ryan said, a little embarrassed.

"I think we need to talk" Kelsi said uncertainly

"I agree" Ryan said "I don't like the way we left things"

Kelsi took a deep breath "I just don't want to do it over the phone" she sighed

"Agreed" Ryan said "Mind if I come over?" he asked

"Sure, if you don't mind that the girls are over here at the moment." Kelsi said, remembering her companions that were downstairs watching a Brad Pitt movie.

"Well, we'll just have to find somewhere to be alone then, I've got the guys over here right now myself" Ryan said

"What, are they tag-teaming us?" Kelsi laughed

"I guess so" Ryan chuckled

"Alright, give me 20 minutes to get over there, okay?" Ryan said, searching his pockets for his keys

"Okay" Kelsi said "Oh and Ryan" Kelsi said quickly.

"Yeah Kels?" Ryan answered.

"I'm sorry about storming off on you" Kelsi said sadly.

"Don't worry bout it, I understand that you were upset about me just dropping this on you. That's something we'll have to talk about when I get there" Ryan responded gently.

Ryan hung up the phone and bounded downstairs, leaping off the bottom step and bouncing back to the boys.

"Hey guys" he said, coming into the kitchen "I'm going to go over to Kelsi's, you're welcome to stay, if not here is the key to the house, make sure to lock up" Ryan said quickly, taking the house key off his key ring.

He found the keys to one of his father's cars, and headed outside to the car and over to Kelsi's.

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Kelsi headed down her own stairs, grinning from ear to ear.

"So I take it the conversation went well?" Taylor asked, as she was the first one to notice her return.

"I knew you'd work things out" Gabriella said happily, bouncing up and down where she sat.

"Well he's just coming over to talk, that doesn't mean anything" Kelsi said, sitting back down next to Martha.

"Hey it's a start" Sharpay said "Now be quiet, this is the best part" Sharpay said, getting back to the movie.

It was almost 20 minutes exactly when Ryan came up to her doorstep. He had stopped at the florist's shop to buy a dozen roses for Kelsi, if he was going to make things up to her then this would have to be a start. He ran a hand through his stubbly hair and rang the doorbell.

"I'll get it" Sharpay said, as she came out of the kitchen.

"Hey Sharpay" Ryan said, seeing his sister for the first time that day.

"Ryan? What did you do to your hair?" Sharpay asked, shocked to see her now bald brother in front of her.

"You like it?" Ryan blushed

"It's…different" Sharpay said

"She's in the kitchen eating ice cream with the other girls" Sharpay said, stepping aside to allow her brother to enter the house.

Ryan walked through the house, noticing how the girls had already turned the living room into girl central, with a bunch of chick flicks on the floor next to the dvd player, and boxes of junk food half eaten. He entered the kitchen and saw Martha, Taylor, Gabriella and Kelsi all talking about college. He cleared his throat, indicating that he was in the room, and all four girls turned around. All of them, except for Gabriella, were shocked to see his now clean shaven head.

"Hey girls" he said, smiling.

"Wow Ryan" Martha said, flabbergasted at his new look.

Ryan just blushed and went over to Kelsi, handing her the roses and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll leave you two alone" Gabriella said, grabbing the other girls and leaving the kitchen.

"So I guess this means you're still serious" Kelsi said, looking up at Ryan's newly shaven head.

"Yeah, it does" Ryan answered, taking a seat next to her.

"Ryan, listen it wasn't that I was mad at you yesterday, it's just that I don't want to lose you" Kelsi said, looking into his eyes.

"You won't lose me, Kelsi" Ryan said.

"It's dangerous Ryan, there are people out there that want us dead and that's not going to change" Kelsi said, tears brimming in her eyes.

"That's why I want to do this, I want to make sure that the world can be safe." Ryan said

"I know" Kelsi said, looking down at the table.

Ryan lifted her chin with his finger so she would look him in the eyes "Kelsi, I can't do this without you being behind me one hundred percent" Ryan said,

"I am behind you no matter what you do" Kelsi said, holding onto his hand.

"I'm really scared Kelsi, and I need to know that you'll be there for me when I leave, and be there when I come back" Ryan said, taking a deep breath.

"Always, Ryan" Kelsi said, tears beginning to fall freely.

"Then do this for me" Ryan said "make me a promise"

"Anything" Kelsi said

"Marry me when I get back" Ryan said

"Ryan, we're still young" Kelsi said, taken aback.

"I know but we won't be forever, and I want to know that when I get back I have something to look forward to" he smiled

"Ryan don't be silly" Kelsi said smiling "I'll be here no matter what, we don't have to get married for me to prove it"

"Okay, maybe that was a little over the top, but how bout I give you this" he said, pulling out his class ring "This is a promise ring, it's a symbol to say that I promise that one day I will make you mine forever." he said, slipping it on her finger as he kissed her gently.

"Mr. Evans, I think you're making me blush" Kelsi said, as her cheeks got red.

Ryan laughed and kissed her again "I love you Kelsi Nielson" he whispered in her ear.

A few minutes and much kissing later, they both walked out of the kitchen to see the girls all smiling at them.

"Everything okay now?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, I think so" Kelsi said slyly, showing off Ryan's class ring that was on her finger.

Sharpay was the first one to get up and hug the both of them.

"Welcome to the family, Kelsi" she said, hugging Kelsi "its about dammed time"

Kelsi laughed and accepted Sharpay's hug.


	5. Chapter 5

Living Without You

Part 5

**Here is the next chapter, folks**

Five days later

Ryan yawned and sat up. He hadn't sleep very well the past few nights, knowing that he was running out of time to be with Kelsi. He had two days left. Two days left to make certain that he had done everything he could to be sure that Kelsi would be okay while he was gone. He rubbed his weary eyes and glanced over at his clock.

"6 am" he sighed "I guess I might as well get out of bed." He flipped back the covers and stumbled out, scratching his stubbly hair after indulging in a big stretch. He headed downstairs to the kitchen, where he found his father getting his stuff ready for work.

"Good morning son" Mr. Evans smiled, looking up from his paperwork as his son came into the kitchen.

"Good morning dad" Ryan replied, as he headed to the stove to make a fresh pot of tea.

"Did you sleep well, son?" he asked distractedly, taking a file out of his briefcase and looking it over briefly before setting it back down.

"Not really" Ryan replied dejectedly, and his father looked up at his tone. Vance stood up and walked over to his son.

"Son, it will be all right. Kelsi will be okay, and so will the rest of us" Vance replied, putting a hand on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan flinched slightly at the touch, and glanced up at his father quickly.

"I hope so, dad" Ryan answered softly.

Vance Evans appeared to have changed a lot since Ryan had told him that he was joining the army. He seemed more approachable, and for the first time in a long while, Ryan didn't feel rejected or unwanted when in his dad's presence. Knowing that the change was because he'd finally submitted to his fathers wish for him to have a more 'manly' occupation stung, but it didn't deter Ryan from his quest, as his fathers approval meant so much to him.

Ryan poured his tea into a cup and bid his father farewell as he headed off to work, and his sister made her appearance soon after.

"Good morning, Ry" Sharpay said, as she rubbed the top of his shaved head and then poured herself a cup of the tea Ryan had made. She took a sip and sat down next to Ryan, noting the faraway look he had in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked in mild concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just didn't get much sleep last night" he answered, as he sipped from his cup.

"Ryan, you shouldn't worry so much, It'll give you wrinkles" Sharpay smiled gently, and then she kissed the top of his stubbly head.

"I know Kelsi should be alright, but I'm worried about what to do for these last two day I have here. I mean, what do you do before you leave the woman you love?" Ryan sighed, looking into his cup of tea as if it held the answers.

"You make every last second count" Sharpay responded, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze.

* * *

Kelsi sighed and looked over at her alarm clock. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and then put on her glasses, seeing the ring that Ryan had given her on her nightstand. She picked it up and held it loosely in her hands.

"What am I going to do, Ryan is leaving in two days, and I have no going away party or any idea what to say to him" she sighed, and slipped the ring onto her finger. She threw back her covers and headed downstairs.

"Hey, baby" her mother greeted her with a smile, as she held out a freshly made cup of tea.

"Thanks, mom" Kelsi replied, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek and taking the cup carefully.

"So what are you doing today?" Kelsi's mother asked as she joined her daughter at the breakfast table.

"I don't know, mom" Kelsi sighed, taking a small sip from the cup

"I mean I only have 2 days left with Ryan, and so far all I've got planned is going with him to the airport"

"You'll think of something" Deanna soothed, as she rubbed her daughters forearm.

Kelsi finished her breakfast and headed upstairs, grabbing a towel on her way to the bathroom. She turned on the water and hopped underneath, hoping the soothing water would help her to think, but unfortunately it did nothing. She turned the water off with a sigh and stepped out dejectedly. She dried herself off and got dressed, and she was about to head downstairs again when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, hoping it was Ryan.

"Hey, Kels" Ryan smiled, loving the sound of her hopeful voice.

"Hey Ryan, I was just thinking about you" Kelsi responded happily

"All good thoughts I hope?" Ryan chuckled

"Of course" Kelsi replied "I was just wondering what we could do today"

"Well don't you worry your pretty head about that, look outside" Ryan told her with a grin.

Kelsi glanced outside, she was hoping to see Ryan, but was stunned to see a limo instead.

"Eek." She squeaked loudly, and Ryan ripped the phone away from his abused ear, putting it back carefully when the noise had stopped.

"It's for you. Now get in, and I'll see you in a bit" Ryan told her, and then he ended the call.

Kelsi bounded down the stairs and saw her mother smiling at her exuberance

"Have fun, honey" she said happily, giving her daughter a hug and giving her a little push out the door.

* * *

Kelsi practically sprinted to the limo, thanking the driver as he opened the door for her. She scooted inside, a little disappointed when she realized that Ryan was not there.

"Mr. Evans will be joining us when I pick him up" the driver said, when he saw the look on her face.

Kelsi smiled happily at the elderly man and buckled herself in. They drove over to Ryan's house, and Kelsi bounded out of the limo, waiting impatiently for the driver to knock on the door to retrieve Ryan. Ryan stepped outside and shook the mans hand, and then he made his way over to Kelsi, his eyes raking her form hungrily.

"Now you're not supposed to be doing that" Ryan sighed, returning his eyes to her face.

"What's that?" Kelsi blushed

"Make me even more crazy about you than I already am" Ryan responded, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. He tugged it lightly, and then kissed her cheek lovingly when she moved into his arms.

The old limo driver watched as Ryan opened the door, smiling as the young man treated his girlfriend like a princess. He whistled to himself as he jogged over to the driver's side of the large vehicle, and got in and then started up the engine.

"So where are we going?" Kelsi asked as she settled back into the limo

"It's a surprise" Ryan smiled, knowing that he was going to show her the night of her life.

They talked lightly for a while until the driver stopped, and Kelsi looked out of the window in mild shock. They were at the airport.

"We're here sir" the driver announced as he opened the door for Ryan and Kelsi.

"Thanks sir" Ryan replied as he tipped the man, and then he held out his hand for Kelsi's

"Alright, Mr Evans, where are we going? This isn't for us, is it?" she asked, utterly flabbergasted at seeing his father's private jet waiting on the tarmac.

"I told you, it's a surprise. Now come on" he responded, leading her to the jet's steps and helping her inside.

Once Kelsi got in there, her jaw dropped. There was champagne and strawberries waiting for them next to the luxurious seats.

"Oh my god, Ryan" Kelsi gasped, tears brimming in her beautiful eyes. "How did you do all of this?"

"My mom and Sharpay helped a little" he smiled, as he poured her a glass of champagne.

"But Ryan, we're not old enough" Kelsi whispered, as if it was a secret.

"I know, but on a night like tonight, we are." Ryan replied, handing her the glass as he gave her a kiss "Have a seat, I'll be right back" he told her, and then he smiled as he ducked away from her and went to the back of the plane.

Kelsi sat down in shock at all that Ryan had done for her, wondering what would come next. She gasped softly when she saw what Ryan returned with, it was a beautiful strapless red dress with little black rhinestones decorating it. Kelsi stood up, almost falling over in her disbelief. She reached out a shaking hand, and withdrew it suddenly.

"How did you do this?" she asked, looking at the dress and then back at Ryan.

"Like I said, Sharpay and my mom helped a little" Ryan laughed, handing her the dress

"But what if it doesn't fit?" Kelsi asked, taking it from him very carefully.

"I know it will. I know every inch of you and I'm sure this will fit." He told her with a smirk. "now go put it on before the pilot has to take off" Ryan chuckled as he shooed her towards the bathroom at the back of the plane.

Kelsi flashed a broad grin at him and headed towards the bathroom to put the dress on. It fitted her petite form perfectly. She looked in the mirror and stopped in shock, taken aback at how good she looked. Now she knew why Sharpay always dressed the way she did, it did something to you, mentally and physically. She took a deep breath and turned the knob to head back to where Ryan was seated.

"Wow" Ryan gasped as he watched Kelsi come back "You look absolutely gorgeous" Kelsi blushed hotly.

"Stop it Ryan, or I'm going to go back and change" Kelsi mumbled, a bit embarrassed by his attention.

"No! Please don't do that" he said, taking her hand and sitting her down next to him.

* * *

The flight seemed to be over in an instant, and Kelsi was surprised when the valet opened the door and said "Welcome to New York city, Mr. Evans, Miss Nielson"

"New York?" Kelsi gasped, barely restraining herself from jumping up and down.

"Yeah I thought since we couldn't be here together this year, we could at least experience it for this one night" Ryan answered, pleased at her excited response to his plan.

Ryan quickly stepped off the plane and helped Kelsi down the steps. Kelsi was smiling broadly the whole way down.

"Wow Ryan, I can't believe you did this" she said looking around and drinking in the sights.

"Well this is only the airport, we've still got more sights to see" Ryan laughed, opening the waiting limo's door and ushering her in.

"Okay Ryan, where are we going?" she asked as she sat down and buckled in.

"It's a surprise" he smiled, doing his own seatbelt up and closing the partition between them and the driver.

They drove a short way from the airport and then the driver stopped. Ryan opened the door and held out his hand to help her out, and Kelsi looked up in curiosity.

"Ryan?!?!" she gasped, utterly shocked by the sight in front of her. She was on Broadway, and was staring up at a marquee that read "RENT"

"You didn't!?" she squeaked, covering her mouth with her shaking hand.

"Yes I did." Ryan responded "I knew that it was one of your favorite shows, so I got us some great seats… and a small surprise afterwards" Ryan answered, holding up two tickets.

* * *

The play was absolutely fantastic, and Kelsi was surprised to see that the original Mark and Roger had come back to do one of the last shows. Kelsi sighed in contentment as the show ended, and they left their seats. Kelsi was ready to head back outside, when Ryan pulled her in the opposite direction.

"Where we going now?" Kelsi asked quizzically

"You'll see" Ryan answered, tugging her towards the backstage area.

"Ryan, we can't go back here" Kelsi whispered, knowing that you had to be famous to get to go backstage.

"Well you never know, we might get lucky" Ryan smiled, as they got to the backstage door.

He flashed the security guard a grin, and the big man smiled back at him and stepped aside to let the two of them in.

"Hmm let me guess, you know the security guard" Kelsi laughed

"No, I know Anthony Rapp" Ryan answered, and Kelsi almost tripped over her own feet.

"How do you know Anthony?" Kelsi almost yelled, remembering to keep her voice down at the last second.

"He comes to Lava Springs almost every other summer. I told him that we were coming, and he invited us backstage after the show" Ryan replied as he knocked softly on Anthony's door.

"Ryan, hey" Anthony said, letting them both in.

They sat and talked with the whole cast for two hours, and the actors even allowed Kelsi to play them a few songs on the theatre's grand piano. Kelsi blushed wildly at their delighted applause. Ryan finally had to lead her back through the theatre to the limo.

"Wow" Kelsi said, still starstruck.

"I'm glad you had a good time" Ryan responded, as he put an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

They drove for a little while longer and reached Times Square, where they pulled up outside a lovely restaurant. Ryan got out and held his hand out for Kelsi to take, escorting her in. As they were seated, Kelsi looked over at Ryan.

"You are unbelievable, Ryan Evans" Kelsi smiled softly as he looked up from his menu.

"Why do you say that?" He asked curiously.

"The trip to New York, seeing 'Rent', hanging out with the cast, this fancy restaurant" Kelsi explained as she looked at him shyly.

"Well I'm doing it to show you how much I love you" Ryan answered, taking her hands gently and kissing the tips of her fingers.

"You don't need to do that, Ryan. I love you, I don't need fancy things to see that you love me too" Kelsi said as she squeezed his hands lightly in appreciation.

* * *

They ate dinner in semi silence and were heading back out to the limo when Ryan suddenly halted and pulled her close to him. He tilted her chin up and gave her a deep lust filled kiss.

"What was that for?" she asked, when Ryan finally broke the kiss.

"It looked like something you needed and I haven't been able to do that all night" he grinned smugly at her dazed smile.

They drove for a little while and Kelsi looked down at her watch when she was surprised by a yawn.

"Wow, its getting late" Kelsi yawned again, noting that it was almost 12 am

"I know that's why I got us a hotel for the night" Ryan said as they pulled up to the Hilton hotel nearby.

They got out and were headed towards the front desk when Ryan stopped and pulled her aside.

"I'm going to leave it up to you, we don't have to if you don't want to, but we can either get separate rooms or we can share a room, and I promise nothing will happen" Ryan breathed, looking deep into her eyes

Kelsi looked searchingly at Ryan, and it took every square inch of her not to run away. Inside she was scared to death and was unsure if she wanted this or not.

"I guess we can get a room together" she answered really quickly, before she could lose her nerve.

They got the key to their room and headed upstairs. Ryan opened the door and Kelsi walked hesitantly inside. She saw the large bed, and fear ran rampant through her body.

"Hey Kels its okay" Ryan told her softly "We don't have to if you don't want to"

Kelsi looked up into Ryan's eyes and smiled uncertainly.

"It's not that Ryan. I'm just starting to realize that its already the next day which means you'll be leaving soon and I don't want to ruin the night" she sighed.

"You're not ruining it, I just want to make sure you're comfortable" he answered. He took her hands gently in his and led her carefully towards the bed, sitting her down on the edge of the mattress and kneeling down before her. He gazed at her with his heart in his eyes, and then he kissed her cheek very gently, repeating the action as he moved slowly towards her mouth.

By the time he reached her lips, Kelsi couldn't take any more teasing. She kissed him deeply as they shifted back onto the bed and fell deeply into their passion.

* * *

Ryan was the first to wake up the next morning, feeling Kelsi's petite body in his arms. He couldn't resist taking a deep whiff of her hair and he smiled, knowing that he'd remember this moment forever. Kelsi felt the light nuzzle and stirred.

"Good morning" he smiled as he felt her wriggling around.

She turned around and looked him in his deep blue eyes.

"Good morning" she chuckled softly.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Living Without You

Part 6

**All righty gang, here is the next chapter**

Ryan and Kelsi returned home after their beautiful night in New York, and Ryan escorted Kelsi to her front door. They both stood there uncertainly, neither knowing exactly what to say.

"So…" Kelsi started, as she kicked a rock away from the step.

"So…" Ryan said at the same time, and they both laughed.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now" Kelsi said as she took Ryan's hand gently in her own.

"For now, I suppose… What are you doing later?" Ryan blurted out, wanting to prolong their time together.

"Well, I need to shower. But then I'm free" Kelsi answered, nodding her head in emphasis

"All right, maybe we can get together with the others. Spend a little time together or something" Ryan offered awkwardly

"Sounds great" Kelsi answered as she rested against him "I really had a wonderful time" Kelsi breathed, as she leant into his chest.

"Me too" Ryan sighed, blinking rapidly as tears threatened to fill his eyes.

Ryan gave Kelsi a deep and passionate kiss, and then opened the door for her. Kelsi stumbled inside and closed the door, leaning up against it. She was battling with her desire to rip the door open and kiss him again so he would never want to leave.

* * *

"Wow" she sighed as she headed up to her room. She ignored the questions from her mother on where she had been all night, and she ran inside her room and flopped onto her bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while, hoping that her mom wouldn't come up to continue her questioning.

Her phone rang, and she rolled over lazily so she could get it, and answered without bothering to look who it was.

"Hello?" Kelsi said dreamily, rolling over onto her back again

"Okay, Kelsi. What happened?" Gabriella asked abruptly "Sharpay just called here in a panic, wondering why Ryan was floating around in a daze and grinning like a Cheshire cat" Gabriella huffed, and Kelsi laughed. How was she supposed to tell her best friend about the wonderful night she had just spent with the most caring man on the face of the earth?

"Kelsi!" Gabriella yelled, drawing her attention back down to earth.

"What?" Kelsi asked innocently, as she snapped out of her daze.

"What exactly is going on? the two of you are acting like you just had sex" Gabriella laughed.

"Err, well…" Kelsi blushed

"You didn't, Oh my God!" Gabriella screamed, and Kelsi ripped the phone away from her poor abused ear. Laughing softly, she told Gabriella about their whole night… Minus the activities in the hotel room.

"Wow, that's so romantic, Kels" Gabriella swooned

"Hey, I've got to go, I really need a shower. I want to do something before Ryan leaves tomorrow, so maybe we can throw an impromptu party or something" Kelsi asked uncertainly

"Sure, maybe we can do it here. Just let me ask my mom, call me back after your shower" Gabriella instructed

"All right, I'll talk to you later, Gab" Kelsi smiled, hanging up the phone.

She showered quickly, and then dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, leaving the hat off for a change.

She found her phone again and dialed up Gabriella.

"So what's the verdict?" Kelsi asked

"We're on! I already called Taylor, Martha and the guys, so they're ready to party. Oh, and don't worry about a thing, my mom said she'll take care of everything" Gabriella answered excitedly.

"Wow, she didn't have to do that, Gab" Kelsi responded thankfully

"Well, she really likes Ryan. She wanted to do something to make sure he knew that everyone will miss him a lot" Gabriella said, a little choked up.

"All right, well I'm heading over to Ryan and Sharpay's house in a bit, so I'll make sure they get over there about 7, 8 o'clock?" Kelsi asked

"Yeah, that should be right. I'll see you then" Gabriella said, hanging up the phone

* * *

Kelsi headed downstairs and was about to run out the door when she was ambushed by her mother.

"stop right there, missy" DeAnna ordered, and Kelsi jumped a little.

"Turn around, and talk to me" she added sternly as she walked over to her daughter.

"What happened last night? where were you?" she asked worriedly.

Kelsi took a deep breath and looked in her mom's eyes…. Here it comes…

"RyantookmetoNewYork,wesawRent,wenttodinner,thenwerentedahotelroom." Kelsi babbled, biting her tongue before she could blab the rest.

"Uh huh" Deanna shook her head, looking her daughter in the eye. Her intuition told her that something else had happened, but her daughter was 18. If something did happen, then she was old enough to make that decision.

"Well, is there anything else you want to tell me?" she asked kindly.

"Nothing mom." Kelsi blushed "Oh, we're going to have a going away party for Ryan at Gabriella's house." She added.

"All right" she paused "Just be careful, and no drinking."

"Well, Gabriella's mom is going to be there, so it will be pretty controlled" Kelsi laughed

"All right" Deanna embraced Kelsi "Tell Ryan good luck, and that we'll all miss him" she soothed.

* * *

Kelsi walked away, looking back at her mom one more time. She smiled and headed out the door and over to Ryan's. It didn't take her too long to get there, and when she knocked on the front door, she was surprised to see Sharpay answering it and she didn't look too happy.

"You come with me. Now." Sharpay snapped. She grabbed Kelsi's hand and dragged the smaller teen up into her room, closing the door behind them firmly.

"All right missy, spill. What happened last night, and why won't my brother stop smiling?"

Kelsi told her almost everything that happened last night, and Sharpay was surprised.

"OoKay… that answers everything" Sharpay smiled, sitting down next to Kelsi "If there was anyone I would want Ryan to share a night with like that it's definitely you" she finished, giving Kelsi a hug.

"Now let's go downstairs. I think Ryan is there with mom" Sharpay stated, dragging Kelsi downstairs.

They got downstairs where sure enough Ryan was watching TV with his mom, Kelsi crossed the entrance and Ryan immediately went over to her and gave her a hug.

"Hey" he smiled

"Hey back atcha" Kelsi said, enjoying his embrace.

"Come on, we're watching Singing in the Rain" Ryan said, leading Kelsi over to the couch. They finished the movie and Kelsi was so caught up in being with him that she had almost forgotten why she came over.

"Oh, Gabriella wants us to come over tonight, you too, Sharpay" Kelsi said sitting up suddenly.

"Ooh sounds fun" Sharpay smiled "I'll have to find an outfit to wear" she finished, disappearing upstairs before either of them could say anything.

Ryan laughed at his sister then turned his attention to Kelsi.

"So how are you today" he smiled, leaning back into the couch and pulling her in to a tight embrace.

"Much better" she smiled.

* * *

3 hours later

Sharpay returned downstairs after almost a million wardrobe changes and dressing Kelsi up in one of her outfits, they finally headed out towards Gabriella's

"So is everyone going to be there?" Ryan asked.

"I guess so, Gabriella just said to come over, she wasn't very specific." Kelsi shrugged.

They arrived in Gabriella's driveway, and noticed everyone was there, including Troy's poor beaten up truck. They headed inside to see that Gabriella and her mom had decorated the whole house, and there was even a big banner that said "Good Luck Private Evans"

Ryan laughed and walked over to Gabriella, giving her a big hug.

"Thanks Gab" he sighed.

"No problem, Ryan" Gabriella answered "Now come on, everyone is in the other room waiting for you" she said, dragging him into the living room.

They partied till pretty late into the night, eating pizza, talking about what they were going to do in college and telling Ryan that they would make sure to be there to see him off tomorrow morning. It was almost 1 am when Ryan walked Kelsi to her door.

"I'm not sure I want to let you go" Ryan said. embracing Kelsi.

"Feeling is mutual" Kelsi sighed, fighting back tears "But you do have to get up early tomorrow. I promise we will see each other tomorrow before you leave" she replied, letting go of him.

Ryan kicked the ground in front of him "True. I'll see you then, I guess." Ryan kissed her deeply and finally headed out to Sharpay's car. Kelsi saw them drive off and headed inside and up to her room. She got ready for bed and was just about to turn off her light when she heard a tap on her window; she opened up her curtains and smiled when she saw Ryan throwing pebbles at her window

"Sorry, I really don't think we should be apart tonight" Ryan called up to her softly.

"All right, meet me at the front door" Kelsi whispered down to him and headed downstairs as quietly as she could, and opening the door for him.

"Come in, just be quiet"

They headed up to her room, and Kelsi set her alarm clock, hoping that she could sneak Ryan out before her mom woke up the next morning. They didn't really sleep all night they just sat up and talked. When Kelsi's alarm clock went off, she helped Ryan out of her window, telling him that she'd see him in a few hours. She kissed him goodbye one more time, and headed back inside to get ready for the longest morning of her life.

* * *

Her mother drove her to the airport and told Kelsi to call her when she was ready to leave. Kelsi steeled herself and headed inside of the airport, and saw that the others were already there.

"Where are Ryan and Sharpay?" Kelsi asked, looking around.

"They're on their way" Troy answered.

Right on cue, Sharpay, Ryan and their mother entered the airport. Ryan was dressed in a suit and tie, with no hat showing off his bald head. He came right up to Kelsi and took her hand, smiling at her.

"You got everything you need, Ducky?" Darcy asked.

"Yes I do mom" Ryan answered, looking down at his one and only suitcase, a duffle that he bought from the army surplus store.

"All right, you stay here with your friends and I'll check you in" Darcy said, disappearing towards the ticket counter.

"Well, I guess there is no talking you out of it now, huh?" Chad asked uncertainly.

"Guess not" Ryan smiled.

"You take care of yourself, and don't get hurt." Chad said, putting his hand towards Ryan and shaking it. It was Zeke's turn next.

"I baked these for you to take on the plane" he said, handing him some cookies "Now if you ever need some while you're there, I'll make sure to send you some" Zeke smiled, shaking Ryan's hand.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and it was down to Kelsi, after a very wet and tearful goodbye from Sharpay, she stood aside finding comfort in Zeke's arms. Ryan took them both away from the group, holding onto her hand.

"Well, what can I say?" Kelsi asked.

"Say that you will never forget me, and that you'll do big things in New York" Ryan answered kissing her hands.

"I'll try" Kelsi blushed "Just promise to write to me all the time"

"I'll try" Ryan joked, getting a slight nudge from Kelsi.

"I'm really going to miss you" Kelsi choked.

"I know, but it won't be too long before I come back, and I'll make sure that my first stop will be in New York" Ryan said, comforting her as best as he could.

"You better, otherwise I'll come over to California and hunt you down" she laughed.

"_Flight 1278 nonstop from Albuquerque to San Bernardino California is now boarding please have your tickets ready_" the overhead announcement came on, startling both Ryan and Kelsi.

"I guess this is it" Ryan said, choking back tears.

"Take care of yourself Ryan" Kelsi said, holding onto his hands.

"You too Kelsi" he answered, giving her a deep and passionate kiss "I love you don't forget that" he said as he headed towards his gate and onto the plane.

* * *

It wasn't too long before Ryan landed in California, and he walked onto the bus that was waiting for new recruits. He took a deep breath and told his name to the man waiting and got on the bus. His heart was pounding when he saw the base get closer and closer, and it wasn't made any better when he finally got on there and all he saw was a bunch of drill instructors banging on the windows as the bus came to a halt.

"What the fu..." was all Ryan could get out when a drill sergeant burst onto the bus and started screaming at them

"Listen up recruits, get your lazy butts off this bus and line up outside" he screamed, leaning over each recruit as they went past. "Get a sense of urgency about you. Now move it!"

Ryan ran outside and stood next to the man that was seated next to him on the bus, and Ryan didn't know if it was the fact that he had already shaved his head or maybe the drill instructor picked a random person to pick on but next thing he knew the drill instructor was stomping up next to him and got right up in his face.

"So this new recruit thinks he's going to be a big bad soldier and already has his head shaved huh?" he screamed

Ryan didn't know what to do he had never been spoken to this way before

"Si...sir." was all he could get out.

"Don't call me Sir, I work for a living. Now drop and give me 20"

Ryan dropped down and did them and popped back up,

"All right recruits. You will go inside. Get your gear, get your military id, and then you will meet me back out here. We're going to do some exercise drills. NOW MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!!" the sergeant yelled as Ryan and the other recruits double timed it inside the building.

* * *

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Living Without You

Part 7

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since Ryan had left for Boot Camp and Kelsi had not really gotten a decent night sleep since the night he had left, and it really didn't help when she was watching TV one night and the movie 'Jarhead' was on. It was the scene where a recruit freaked out during a training exercise and had gotten shot in the head, Kelsi about freaked out herself and ran out of the room just to get away from the terrible thought that Ryan had done the same thing, she ran upstairs to attempt to get some sleep but only found herself staring at the ceiling and it being 3 o clock in the morning

"Come on Kels this is ridiculous you can't go yet another night with barely any sleep" Kelsi sighed, she was supposed to have lunch with Sharpay and Derby the next afternoon and she wasn't even sure she wanted to go. Sharpay had stuck close to Kelsi the moment Ryan had left almost more than she would have wanted but it was comforting to know that a piece of Ryan was in her life even if he wasn't. After hours of tossing and turning Kelsi had finally fell asleep even if it was only for two hours. She got up and headed downstairs greeting her parents half-heartedly and headed into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.

"Good morning honey" DeAnna said giving her daughter a kiss on top of her head

Kelsi finished making her breakfast and sat down at the kitchen table her mom sat down across from her holding onto something

"Honey this came for you this morning" she said as she handed Kelsi an envelope, Kelsi stared at looking at Ryan's handwriting and smiling

"I'll let you read it alone" DeAnna whispered leaving the kitchen table

Kelsi didn't answer her all she did was nod, she grabbed her cup of tea and headed p to her room. She sat down at her desk and stared again at the envelope, it almost seemed surreal after all the waiting to be sitting here with a letter she felt like she had waited a lifetime for. She took a deep breath and opened the envelope she pulled out the paper and was surprised when rose petals fell out with the paper, laughing to herself she opened the letter and began to read

_"My dearest Kelsi, I know it's been a while since I've been gone but things here have kept me busy but I guess life is funny like that. Life here has been non stop all go no quit, they have been training us both mentally and physically for what lies ahead, but who knows what lies ahead maybe the war could end tomorrow and there will be no need for young men like myself to go over there. The good news is that my sergeant says that I'm a natural at taking orders and has even named PGA 'Platoon Guide Assistant' basically whenever the platoon guide isn't there I fill in for him which is kind of neat, after all those years of taking orders from Sharpay I now get to give some. Now that I have you laughing which I hope I do cause I cant stand to see you cry even when I'm a thousand miles away from you, I wanted to let you know that I love you and I miss you so much, I go to bed every night with your name on my lips and thinking of you and I wake up even if I'm being yelled at thinking about you I would have never been able to do any of this if I didn't know you were behind me a hundred percent. Like I'm going to be behind you when you blow up on Broadway and make beautiful music for all the world to hear, cause that it what you are Kelsi beautiful not only on the inside but on the outside too. I wish that I could be there with you holding you and kissing you but I'll just have to spend another night here alone holding your picture in my hands with you in my thoughts and prayers. Until next time Ryan"_

Kelsi folded up the pages and held them close to her heart letting a small sob escape her

* * *

Kelsi laid down on her bed holding the letter to her chest and must have fallen asleep cause when she awoke her phone was ringing and when she looked at it the clock read 12:15

"Oh no Sharpay" Kelsi gasped reaching for the green button to answer the phone

"Sharpay I'm so sorry its just I...fell asleep" Kelsi rambled

"Kelsi its okay we all got letters from Ryan too" Sharpay said knowing that Kelsi must still be reeling from the letter from Ryan

Kelsi could tell that Sharpay had been crying "So we still on for lunch?" she asked timidly

"Of course I wouldn't miss it for the world" Sharpay answered feeling her spirits lift up

"All right just let me get ready I'll meet you and your mom there" Kelsi said hanging up the phone and rushing to her shower to get ready, she rushed out of the house forgetting to say goodbye to her parents and before she knew it she was at the restaurant they had chosen to meet up at, she saw Sharpay and Derby at a nearby table and they motioned for her to come over "I'm so sorry I'm late" she said almost out of breath

"Oh its okay darling" Darby said standing up giving Kelsi a hug and Sharpay joined her mother in doing the same and Kelsi enjoyed the hugs from both of the ladies, they let Kelsi sit down with Sharpay at her side "I mean we were all a little upset after reading Ryan's letters" Derby said rubbing Kelsi's forearm

They ordered their food and sat there talking for quite a long time when Darby asked Kelsi about Julliard "So you ready for college Kelsi?" she asked playing with her napkin

"Sort of, I have a few compositions I had been writing you know before" Kelsi sighed looking down at her empty plate

"Whatever you've done should be perfect" Sharpay said smiling at Kelsi "I mean come on you made Troy and Gabriella sound good that cant be easy" she laughed

Kelsi just smiled at Sharpay's comment and saw the waiter standing over them coughing politely as he set the check down. Kelsi grabbed her purse ready to pay her half when Derby stopped her

"No, no, no, honey you never have to pay when you're with us put your money away" She said shooing Kelsi to close her purse

Kelsi didn't feel much like arguing besides who can resist a free lunch? She stood up and was walking with them out to the parking lot when Sharpay asked her

"You got a ride home?"

"No I just walked here" Kelsi answered

"Now that's not right come on we'll take you home" Derby said pulling the small composer towards her car. As Kelsi slid into the backseat Sharpay turned around and smiled at her

"Kelsi you know you could just come home with us, besides I could use a hand getting ready for my date with Zeke" She grinned

"Sure sounds great" Kelsi said half smiling. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with the Evans' it was just that she wanted to go home so badly and write to Ryan or at least catch up on some sleep but it was no use and before she knew it she was upstairs with Sharpay helping her pick out an outfit.

* * *

About a hundred outfits later Sharpay was dressed in a beautiful strapless dress 'pink of course' and Kelsi was relieved. She was heading downstairs when she heard the doorbell ring it must have been Zeke so she decided to open the door finding a very well dressed Zeke behind the door

"Wow I guess Sharpay's fashion sense has rubbed off on you Zeke" she said smiling at Zeke who was wearing a buttoned down blue shirt with a jacket over it black slacks and a black and white fedora on his head

"Thanks Kelsi I kind of like it makes me look like Michael Jackson" Zeke answered doing a little spin

"Well you look very handsome, and I believe Sharpay is just about ready" Kelsi smiled turning around to see if Sharpay was there and lo and behold she was taking Zeke's hand

"Are you ready?" she asked

"Wow" was all he could say flabbergasted by the way his princess looked, she turned around and flashed a smile at Kelsi

"Well I'll talk to you later Kelsi, oh and by the way my mom wants you to stay for dinner" Sharpay said

"But?!?!" Kelsi was about to protest when Derby showed up at the doorstep

"Good evening Zeke" she smiled at the young man

"Good evening Mrs. Evans, I'll have her back before midnight" he said being cordial

"Don't worry, just be careful" she answered, and at that they were out the door and heading towards Zeke's car

"Now you Ms. Neilson" Derby said smiling at Kelsi "I called your parents and they don't mind that you stay over for dinner now follow me" she smiled as Kelsi almost reluctantly followed Derby into the kitchen

* * *

Mojave Dessert California 'Fort Irwin'

Ryan had just came in from PT and was practically exhausted the sergeant had given them ten minutes to change and meet outside before heading in for dinner. Ryan was half out of his PT gear when mail call came in

"Hey Evans you got a letter" the carrier yelled tossing Ryan an envelope.

Ryan picked it up and smiled seeing that it was from Kelsi, but didn't have much time to open it so he stowed it in his foot locker put a shirt on and headed out to join the others in line for chow. Some extra physical training and some fun with an M-16 later Ryan flopped down on his bunk and ran a hand through his shaven head and sighed. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep tonight because he was on fire watch, but at least he'd get a chance to read Kelsi's letter and maybe even write her another one.

The other recruits wished Ryan goodnight and headed to their bunks, and Ryan grabbed his flashlight walking a few laps around the barracks. He knew all was safe as usual so he sat down outside the door and took Kelsi's letter out of his pocket, opened it took a deep breath and began to read

_"My darling Ryan after hours of spending time with Sharpay and your mom I was finally granted a reprieve and a ride home in the family limo (by the way much fun ought to do it more) and was aloud to go home the only thing I wanted to was write you. When I got your letter it felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, its hard here without you it feels like a major part of our group is missing but then again soon it won't matter. Taylor is heading to Connecticut, Troy and Gabriella are going to California and your sister and Chad are staying here, the whole group is moving on and heading in different directions and in a few weeks I won't be here I'll be leaving for New York. It makes me wonder what's going to happen will we always be friends will we always be here for each other. Then I wonder about us I know that in 7 weeks you will have graduated from boot camp and you'll be coming home but what happens after that? Where will we be, will you still want for me to be around or will we loose touch with each other? I don't know Ryan maybe it's my insecurities or it's just the fact that I miss you so much and I'm afraid of loosing you I feel so alone and don't know what to do about it. I know it's no better for you. I was listening to my IPod the other day and a song that I didn't know was on there started was playing its by Michael Jackson called 'You Are Not Alone', and the words filled my heart and I felt I should share them with you in hopes that it would fill yours _

_'You are not alone, _

_I am here with you, _

_Though you're far away, _

_I am here to stay. _

_You are not alone _

_I am here with you _

_Though we're far apart_

_You're always in my heart_

_For you are not alone_

_It seems like it screams my feelings at this time and I know you must feel the same way. Everyone here says not to worry that you will be safe and will be home before I know it but I don't know if I can wait that long I wish I could fly out there and see you and hold you but I guess I'll just have to wait. I'll lie here tonight in my bed and hold your picture close to my heart and try to send every ounce of my love to you and hope that it keeps you warm. I love you Ryan and I will wait for your next letter, until then know that you will always be in my heart like the song says. Love you and miss you a lot Kelsi"_

Ryan folded up the letter and wiped away a stray tear. He felt the need to call Kelsi and make her feel better, but he had a job to do and would try and call her tomorrow. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was time for him to take another trip around the perimeter so he picked up his flashlight and set off on his way

* * *

A/N This chapter is dedicated to Michael Jackson may he rest in peace and find the peace that he never had when he was a child. I know that Michael had a lot of influence on today's artists including the High School Musical cast especially Corbin Bleu, and its nice to know that his legacy will live on in these talented artists


	8. Chapter 8

Living Without You

Chapter 8

* * *

Kelsi was having dinner with Troy and Gabriella at Troy's house trying to avoid the heartache and the fact that she had missed Ryan so much; it wasn't till Jack Troy's dad came in carrying the food spoke up about it

"So how's Ryan doing Kelsi?" Jack asked setting the steaks down on the table

Kelsi blushed feverishly she was trying to avoid the subject but every time she did someone brought up Ryan's name, she noticed Troy giving his dad a look that spoke volumes

"No, no its okay" Kelsi said smiling and collecting all her courage "He's doing good I expect another letter from him soon"

"Well that's great" Gabriella smiled "Now lets eat I'm starving" she finished taking Kelsi's hand and leading her into the dining room

* * *

Kelsi started on her way home Troy had offered her a ride but it was such a gorgeous night out she didn't want to waste it, besides it gave her time to think about her next letter to Ryan. What would she say would she tell them about her nights over at the Bolton's or even the Evans' house or the fact that Chad has been trying to get her to play basketball with him or Zeke baking her almost everything under the rainbow or Taylor trying to get her ready for college. Everything seemed to be happening fast and Kelsi didn't know what to make of it not to mention she only had a few days left till she left for New York. She sighed as the ramblings in her head never seemed to stop but one of them told her to stop and pay attention cause she was about to walk right past her front door.

She entered inside and noticed that nobody was home "Great another night alone" she sighed and headed up to her room, she sat down on her bed and noticed some half finished music sheets she walked over to her desk and started fiddling with her keyboard striking a few notes while writing something down on the sheets. She spent at least an hour at her keyboard almost oblivious to the world around her when she was startled by her phone, she took her glasses off and gently rubbed her eyes picking the phone up wondering who it was and did they obviously not know that she wanted to be alone? Then she noticed it was an area code that she had never seen before thinking it was a wrong number she ignored the call and put the phone back down. A few minutes later the phone started ringing again she got frustrated and decided to answer it and give whoever was bugging her a piece of her mind

"Hello?" she asked sounding a little frustrated

"Well if that's how you're going to answer the phone then I might as well have not called" the voice on the other line joked

"Aww" she playfully pouted

"Okay just tell me you love me and I'll stay" he laughed

"Ryan Evans I love you more than the moon and stars in the sky" Kelsi blushed

"That's my girl, how are you doing today?" Ryan asked playfully

"Well I just got back from a barbeque with Troy and Gabriella and I have to say Mr. Bolton is one heck of a griller" Kelsi laughed

"That's great its nice to see you're not moping around the house mourning the fact that I'm not there" Ryan teased

"Nah I've moved on now, yeah Troy is way better at being a boyfriend then you and he's much better in bed" Kelsi laughed

"Ow I'm so hurt well I guess then I'll just have to keep this present I have for you" Ryan said

"What did you get me?" Kelsi asked excitedly

"Well its two things, the first one is a plane ticket and the second one you'll get if you use the first one" Ryan smiled

"A plane ticket? Why would I need a plane ticket?" Kelsi questioned

"Well I'm graduating from boot camp in three weeks and I want you to be there, besides I sent one of to all the others but I really only want you there Kelsi" he answered

"Ryan.....I........but" Kelsi stumbled

"Kelsi please tell me you'll be there" Ryan begged

"All right Ryan I will but promise me that you'll at least spend some time with me in New York" Kelsi bargained

"Well now that's more like it, how's my favorite composer doing?" Ryan asked

"She's doing much better now that her long lost boyfriend has called her" Kelsi said smiling

"I got some privileges the other day and one of them included being able to make phone calls and of course you were the one and only person I wanted to talk to" Ryan sighed

"Well I'm happy for that" Kelsi blushed "How long do we have?" she continued

"About a half an hour there are a lot of phones here so I don't really have to share. God I miss you so much Kelsi it's ridiculous" Ryan said almost loosing his cool

"I know but it's only a few more weeks then we'll be together" Kelsi answered playing with a strand of her hair

"I know but it's hard I mean I dream of you almost every night and when I wake up its hard to know that the only thing that I'm holding is my pillow when I want it so badly to be you. I mean the day I left it felt like a little piece of me was left behind and its just not the same if you're not here with me" Ryan sighed almost feeling tears come to his eyes

"Ryan I miss you soo much too everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing and I tell them I'm fine but on the inside I feel like I'm a walking zombie, its not the same here and I don't know how to cope" Kelsi cried

"I know honey do me this favor tonight when you feel like you're alone remember our night in New York remember me holding onto you and sending every ounce of my love to you and know that it will never go away and neither will I. I'm going to be in your life for the rest of yours and mine and I hope that you never forget that." Ryan said wiping his face so nobody around him saw tears in his eyes

"Only if you do the same for me" Kelsi answered

"I always do honey" Ryan smiled

"So tell me what it's like there so I never have to go" Kelsi joked

"It's not too bad; to be honest we spend so much time indoors you'd forget that we're in a desert. Although I'd never expect to see Sharpay here I mean we have this one drill instructor and I swear she'd be best friends with Sharpay because they are almost exactly alike. The other day she was taking us out on our run and her hair just poofed up she almost looked like a blonder female version of Chad" Ryan laughed

"Well now that's a scary sight" Kelsi giggled

"Then on other days were training on the M-16" he groaned

"You don't sound too excited about that" Kelsi laughed

"Well it's really heavy and it's a pain in the butt to put together and take apart it took me at least 10 tries just to get it right" Ryan laughed

"Oh I'm sure nobody else got it right the first time you're not all like Forrest Gump out there" she teased

"Forrest who?" Ryan asked confused which made Kelsi laugh "Well I'm trying to get into the armor infantry but its hard there are a lot of other people gunning for the same job but if I'm lucky they'll accept me and then I'll be going to Kentucky for more training after I'm done here" Ryan stated

"Oh" Kelsi sighed dejectedly

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked

"I guess it means more time apart then" Kelsi sighed

"Well the training for that actually doesn't start for a while they said middle of January at the most" Ryan answered, which made Kelsi immediately perk up "Look hon I have to go there is someone behind me waiting to use the phone and he looks pissed" Ryan laughed

"All right tell me you love me and I'll let you go" Kelsi laughed

"I love you Kelsi and I hope you never forget that" Ryan breathed

"I love you too sleep well" Kelsi said hanging up the phone

Kelsi hung up the phone and felt as though she had just been lifted into heaven, hearing from Ryan may have been the best thing to ever happen to her and she couldn't be anymore happier then she was at that moment. She laid down on her bed abandoning her compositions and letting herself drift off into dream land.

* * *

It wasn't until the next day that Kelsi had noticed that she fell asleep on her bed not even changing into night clothes she didn't really care all she knew is that she'd be seeing Ryan in a few weeks and that was all that really mattered. She went about her day as though she had not a care in the world but then remembered that she had made a shopping date the other day with Martha and had almost forgotten about it when Martha had called her

"Hey girl" Martha said all chipper

"Hey Martha I know that I'm supposed to meet you at the mall but I totally forgot" Kelsi said flustered

"Its all right girl I'm actually late myself I had to fill out some forms for the college I'm going to" Martha answered

"Pre-med right?" Kelsi asked

"Yeah so far they haven't asked for a blood sample and my first born" Martha joked "So I'll meet you there in a half an hour then?" she asked

"Yeah I'll see you there" Kelsi answered hanging up the phone

Kelsi got her stuff together, left a note for her mother and headed out the door. For being the middle of July it was a pretty nice day not too hot and sticky like it usually is, which made Kelsi wonder if it was going to be like this in New York. Kelsi seemed lost in her thoughts as she headed towards the mall that she didn't see the man coming up behind her

"Hey miss got the time?" he asked

"Yeah its a quarter after 4" Kelsi said looking down at her watch not even bothering to look up at him and kept walking towards her destination, something about the man gave Kelsi the creeps but she fought off that thought thinking that she needed to get rid of her shyness if she was ever going to make it in New York, but she gave her front pocket a quick squeeze making sure her keys were in there if she needed a quick defense mechanism

"Where you headed to?" the man asked

"Just up the street to meet my boyfriend" Kelsi lied

"Oh so I guess that means I cant ask you out then" the man whimpered

"No guess not, look its nice talking to you but I have to go he's big and mean and plays football" Kelsi said trying to get rid of him

"All right then see you around" the man said ducking behind a building

Kelsi shook off her uneasy feelings and kept walking, she found Martha waiting outside the mall with a very unhappy Jason

"Hey Martha hey Jason" she said to the basketball player and her ex who didn't seem to happy to be there

"Hey Kels, don't mind Jason I told him he had to come so he can get his stuff for college he's been putting it off for too long" Martha said taking Jason's hand and pulling him inside

They shopped for hours and Kelsi had found a whole new wardrobe to wear to Ryan's graduation she knew that he would love. She said good bye to the couple and headed towards home, she was halfway home when a figure pulled her into an alley

"Remember me?" the harsh voice said as he hit her across the face, Kelsi tried to fight she clawed him in the face but it was no use he hit her again and she was out like a light. When she woke up she noticed that he was on top of her raping her "Ahh you're awake" he said as he slammed into her one more time grunting as he finished. Kelsi felt dirty she tried to get out from under him and run away but he still had her pinned "Something to remember me by he said as he grabbed out his knife and plunged it into her chest. Kelsi felt all the air rush out of her body as the man ran away. She laid there for a good twenty minutes when she tried to collect what little strength she had and practically crawled out of the alleyway trying to find someone when she ran into an elderly man and passed out

* * *

Okay I know that's a little harsh but I decided to give Kelsi a big story line too, hope you all enjoyed


	9. Chapter 9

Living Without You  
Part 9

Okay I know that the last one left a lot of people including myself a little dumbfounded *hey I lost sleep cause of what I wrote*, but I will warn you now that it can get a little rocky in this chapter and maybe ya'll wanna grab some tissues

* * *

Neilson Residence

DeAnna came home later that night with the days mail in her hand looking for anything interesting. Nothing new so she started looking around for Kelsi, "Kelsi I'm home, I was thinking Chinese food tonight," she said as she entered her room and noticed it was empty. "Kelsi?" She called again but no answer. She went into the kitchen and found Kelsi's note

Hey mom went shopping with Martha be back later  
Love Kelsi

DeAnna put the note down and smiled, she was happy that Kelsi had a friend like Martha to keep her mind off of Ryan not being there, she knew that her daughter was hurting and that Ryan meant the world to her. She put the mail down and picked up the telephone only for it to start ringing in her ear, she winced at the high pitch noise and answered it

"Hello?" she said hoping it would be Kelsi

"Mrs. Neilson?" the voice on the other line answered

"Yes this is her, may I ask who's calling?" she asked

"Mrs. Neilson I'm Dr. Clarkson from Albuquerque General" he said voice a little shaky "I have a young lady here named Kelsi we need you to come down to the hospital"

DeAnna's heart almost literally stopped what was going on with her baby and why was she in the hospital?

"What's going on doctor?" she asked

"I can't tell you anything over the phone ma'am, you need to come down to the hospital right away" the doctor said, hanging up the phone.

DeAnna dropped everything she had in her hands including the phone, grabbed her purse and ran out the door. She got into her car and the first thing that came to her mind was Martha Cox and her parents. If something was wrong with Kelsi and she was with Martha something must be wrong with Martha too. She frantically dialed the Cox residence and was greeted by Martha herself

"Hello?" Martha asked

"Martha you're home where is Kelsi?" DeAnna almost yelled as she tried avoiding an oncoming car

"What do you mean Mrs. Neilson? Isn't she at home?" Martha asked, sounding scared.  
"No the hospital just called and said she was there, I assumed she was still with you" Deanna cried

"No I went home. Jason offered her a ride but she didn't take it, what happened?" Martha asked tears almost stinging her eyes scared for her friend

"I don't know. Look I'm at the hospital I'll call you after I find out what's going on" DeAnna said not even bothering to tell the girl goodbye

* * *

Albuquerque General Hospital

DeAnna ran up to the admittance desk hoping she had remembered to shut her car door, she was such in a hurry that she didn't care. The young man behind the desk saw her coming and almost ran for the security desk she scarred him that much

"My daughter, where is she?" DeAnna yelled out

"I'm sorry?" the young man stammered

"Kelsi Neilson, she was brought in here, where is she I want to know!" she yelled out banging her hands on the desk scaring herself

"Ma'am you're going to have to take a seat, I'll call her doctor and he'll come out and tell you everything" the man said pointing to the chairs

"Look I don't want to take no dammed seat you'll tell me where I can find my daughter now!" DeAnna said trying to avoid getting the security called on her

"Ma'am I'm sorry but if you don't calm down I'm going to have security escort you out of here. Now go sit down" the man said pointing to the chairs again

DeAnna dejectedly headed towards the chairs and sat there until a young man approached her, he had to have been straight out of med-school cause he looked almost the same age as Kelsi

"DeAnna Neilson?" the young man called out and DeAnna stood up from her chair and headed towards the young doctor

"That's me" she said her voice shaking

"Mrs. Neilson I'm Dr. Clarkson we talked on the phone, your daughter was brought into tonight with a stab wound to the upper chest" he said reading off of Kelsi's chart

"She.....wha?" DeAnna said clutching her chest she felt like she was the one who was stabbed

"We have gotten her stabilized and she is being prepped for surgery" he said walking towards Kelsi

"Now I also have to tell you this cause she is unable to answer us to whether or not she wants it done or not but Mrs. Neilson" he said taking a deep shaky breath "Your daughter was raped and we need to perform a rape exam for the police" he said pointing over to the police who were guarding Kelsi's door

DeAnna couldn't believe what was happening her daughter raped it was almost like a surrealistic nightmare and she started to wonder if someone was trying to pull a bad prank on her. She nodded her head at the doctor and he went off to find a rape kit. She took a long look at the police officers standing at Kelsi's door took a deep breath and walked inside of Kelsi's room. She saw Kelsi lying there motionless and attached to monitors and a breathing tube. What kind of monster could have done this to her little girl? What heartless bastard got his rocks off by assaulting women and leaving them for dead? She sat down in the chair next to Kelsi's bed and took her hand she was surprised to see how lifeless it felt as though Kelsi wasn't even there and it was just a shell of her daughter. She called her husband and told her to meet her at the hospital but didn't go into details. She didn't want anything bad to happen to the other most important person in her life.

* * *

She must have sat there for at least a half an hour when the nurse walked in

"Mrs. Neilson we need to start the exam now would you mind coming with me to fill out some paperwork" the nurse smiled

"No I want to stay with my daughter" DeAnna answered holding on more tightly to Kelsi's hand

"Ma'am we don't allow family members in the room when we do this so you need to come with me" the nurse answered more sternly

DeAnnna couldn't argue all those years of being a nurse she knew that she wasn't allowed to stay in the room, she gave her daughter's hand a light squeeze kissed her on her forehead and headed out the door following the nurse. She started filling out some paperwork when her phone went off, she had forgotten to call Martha back.

"Hello?" she answered almost in a stupor

"Is she okay, Mrs. Neilson?" Martha asked hurriedly

"No she's not Martha she was assaulted tonight" DeAnna said crying

"Oh my god" Martha yelled dropping the phone, she picked it back up "I'm coming down there. Jason and Taylor are with me they want to come too if that's okay with you?" Martha asked feeling as though she was going to throw up

"Okay Martha I'll see you when you get here" she sighed knowing that even if she did say no that they'd still come anyway. She finished filling out the paperwork and looked up to see her husband standing at Kelsi's closed door, she walked over to him and he put his arms around her

"What's going on?" he asked

"They had to do an exam before she goes up for surgery" she said not sure how to break the next part to him

"What type of exam?" he asked seeing tears in his wife's eyes

DeAnna closed her eyes attempting to steel herself and looked him straight in the eyes

"A rape exam" she said unsteady

Mr. Neilson didn't say anything he just hung his head and walked out of the hospital, DeAnna debated on whether or not to follow him when the doctor called her over

"Mrs. Neilson we've finished and we found something we thought you should know about" the doctor said looking at his chart "Mrs. Neilson your daughter was pregnant" he said looking her in the eyes

"Pregnant? How could that be I mean she couldn't have been," she said and then she remembered Kelsi's last night with Ryan and how she thought that something had happened and apparently it had.

"Unfortunately due to the severity of the attack your daughter lost the baby, I'm sorry" the doctor finished and walked away to find out when she was heading up for surgery.

DeAnna sat down next to Kelsi and held onto her hand while looking down at Kelsi's stomach thinking about the little life that was barely forming inside her daughter and how easily that life was snatched away, and then she thought of Ryan and his part in all of this he had gotten her little girl pregnant and then left her to be attacked by some man. Why was this all happening and when would it end?

The surgeon finally showed up flashed her a smile and whisked Kelsi up to the surgical ward, DeAnna went outside to find her husband staring at the ground in disbelief

"How could this happen?" he asked

"I don't know" she said sitting down next to him "You do everything to protect your child and this is how life repays you"

"She's not going to New York now I wont allow it" he said angrily kicking the ground in front of him

"Luke, Julliard has always been her dream you cant take that away from her" DeAnna said standing up to defend her daughter

"Like hell I can if she gets attacked here who knows what will happen in New York" Luke said walking away "She's not going and that's final!"

DeAnna sat there outside the emergency room watching people go in and out when she saw a group of teenagers approach her, she wasn't too surprised to see practically the whole East High student body of course being led by Sharpay who looked like she wanted to kill someone, but she slowly approached DeAnna wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug

"How is she?" Sharpay asked

"She's in surgery right now, they think she'll be all right we just have to keep praying for her" DeAnna said towards the group

"Can we go inside?" Troy asked

"Of course we can my grand father helped build this hospital they will let us in or I'll have daddy fire them all" Sharpay huffed taking DeAnna's hand and heading inside up to the surgical ward. DeAnna passed by the young man at the admittance desk and gave him a small wave as if to say 'Screw off!'

They all sat up in the surgical waiting room, the boys all talked basketball while the girls were trying to keep DeAnna calm Sharpay even tried suggesting her to go home while they kept an eye on Kelsi after the surgery. A half an hour later the doctor that took Kelsi up to surgery showed up and was surprised to see a bunch of teenagers in the waiting room especially after visiting hours

"Mrs. Neilson" the surgeon called out and was bombarded by all the teens "I'm sorry guys but I only need Kelsi's parents" the doctor said shooing them away. He took Kelsi's parents to a quieter section of the room and talked to them in hushed tones "Your daughter is out of surgery now and everything is fine we had to repair a small tear in one of the valves to her heart but she's going to be fine, she still has to be on a ventilator for a while longer but other than that she should make a full recovery" the doctor said as DeAnna gave him a hug

"Thank you doctor" she said wiping tears from her eyes she was about to say something when everyone all at once came up to her "She's fine guys, they had to repair a tear in her heart but she's going to be fine" DeAnna said watching as the girls hugged their respective boyfriends with tears in their eyes

"Can we go see her?" Gabriella asked

"Not tonight guys she needs her rest which I'm sure all of you do also, so you might as well go home" DeAnna said trying to shoo them off

"But what about you Mrs. Neilson?" Zeke asked

"I'll be fine besides Kelsi's dad is here so we'll make it through the night" DeAnna said smiling at her husband

"Well I'll bring you two breakfast tomorrow" Zeke said giving her a hug and Luke a handshake

"Yeah and Troy and I've got nothing planned for tomorrow so we'll come by and keep an eye on her so you two can have a break" Gabriella said.

The kids all walked out of the ward giving DeAnna and Luke hugs, but DeAnna noticed that Sharpay was still there

"You're not getting rid of me that easy" Sharpay said smiling at them "Besides Kelsi is my soon to be sister in law I wouldn't leave her side for a moment" she said before getting comfortable on one of the couches and flipping on the television.

Sharpay sat there for a few hours and noticed that Kelsi's parents were asleep, they weren't allowing anyone to see Kelsi just yet until she had been moved out of the ICU and it hit Sharpay, she needed to get a hold of Ryan but how was she going to do that? And would they even allow Ryan to leave boot camp to see Kelsi? She quickly picked up her phone and called one of her dad's business associates, she knew if anyone knew how to get anything it was him.

She finished talking to him and they decided to get a hold of the base commander and tell him the situation and let it go from there

* * *

Fort Irwin Mojave Desert California

Ryan had just come in from morning chow and was about to head out for some PT when his commander called him over

"Evans you got a phone call" he yelled out

Ryan was confused who would call him, who would even know how to get a hold of him. He double timed it into his commander's office and was promptly handed the phone.

"It's your sister Evans, something has happened at home" the commander said handing him the phone, he took the phone from him and took a deep breath answering it

"Hello, Sharpay?" he asked scared that something had happened to her or his parents

"Ryan its Kelsi. She was attacked" Sharpay said as she stood outside of the hospital not wanting to go into full details

"What do you mean attacked?" He asked fear coursing through his body

"Some maniac grabbed her while she was walking home and attacked her. She's in the hospital" Sharpay answered

"Sharpay is she okay?" Ryan asked scared that he might of lost Kelsi

"She's fine now she's recovering from surgery he really did a number on her Ry" Sharpay said almost on the verge of tears. Ryan held in all his anger trying not to loose his cool and punch a wall or someone in the face

"I'll see if I can come home if not I'll just leave" Ryan said

"Ry" Sharpay said trying to keep him from doing something stupid

"No butts Sharpay this is Kelsi we're talking about. I'll call you back when I know something" Ryan said hanging up the phone. After much debating, telling his platoon commander that Kelsi was his fiancée, and a day later Ryan was allowed a two week pass of the base to look after Kelsi and was on the next available flight out of California.

He arrived in Albuquerque two hours later still dressed in his fatigues and saw Martha and Taylor waiting for him outside the airport, he ran over to them giving them both hugs

"Wow Evans military life is good to you huh?" Gabriella said noticing Ryan's new buff physique

"Well about a hundred push ups a day will do that to you" he said smiling "Now please get me to Kelsi" he said heading towards Taylor's car

* * *

Albuquerque General Hospital

They drove silently to the hospital and made their way up to Kelsi's room, Ryan saw his mom along with Kelsi's in the waiting room and went over to Kelsi's mom giving her a hug

"I'm so sorry this happened" Ryan said almost crying in DeAnna's arms

"She needs you to be strong now Ryan" DeAnna said consoling him

"Yes ma'am" he hiccupped, and noticed his sister in the corner of the room and went over to give her a hug "Thank you Sharpay" he said putting her down and giving her a kiss on the cheek

He got the small nod from his mom and left the waiting room to find Kelsi's room, he headed over to the nurses station

"Kelsi Neilson's room" he asked his voice slightly wavering

"Room 204" she said checking him out in his army gear and smiling

"Thank you" he answered smiling and half sprinted over to Kelsi's room, he saw her lying there still hooked up to the ventilator and a huge band-aid on her chest from where they cut her open to repair the damage. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do, half of him wanted to track the bastard down and kill him and the other half just wanted to lay down next to her and hold her. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and took her hand

"Kelsi it's me Ryan" he said feeling her give his hand a light squeeze and cracking an eye open "I'm here and I'm not going to leave your side" he said fighting off fresh tears "I wish I was here to protect you and I'm so sorry that I wasn't, but I promise you that I will never let anything like this happen to you ever again."

She gave his hand another squeeze and looked into his eyes tears filling hers and asked for a notepad

"You want to tell me something?" he asked as she made another gesture with her hands indicating her writing "All right" he looked around and found a small notepad and a pen in the drawer next to her bed and handed it to her "Go ahead sweetie" he said

'I'm glad you're back' Kelsi wrote

"Honey me too" he said giving her a light kiss on her hand, Ryan heard a small cough behind him and noticed Kelsi's mom and his mom standing in the doorway, he let them in and thought that maybe he should let DeAnna spend some time with Kelsi and he started to walk out of the room

"No no its okay Ryan actually if you wouldn't mind I want you to stay cause your mom and I have something to tell you two and we think you should hear it together" DeAnna said pulling a chair out for Darby and Ryan. Kelsi got a worried look in her eyes wondering what her mom was up to

"This isn't easy for us to say" Darby said staring at the ground "But we know what you two did in New York" she finished

"Mom I know we're both to young to be doing that type of stuff but...wait how did you know?" Ryan asked shocked

"Well your sister told us and so did Kelsi in a way" DeAnna answered

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked holding onto Kelsi's hand

"Kelsi you were pregnant" Darby said looking up into Kelsi's fearful eyes, Kelsi furiously wrote something down on her notepad and handed it to Ryan who nodded his head and showed it to their moms

'What do you mean were pregnant?' the pad said

DeAnna choked back some tears and took a deep breath "The attack you experienced was just too much and you lost the baby" she said as Darby held onto her hand. Kelsi didn't do anything all she did was lie there, Ryan walked out of the room not even knowing what to say. Sharpay saw him walking past her with tears in his eyes and decided to follow him

"What's going on Ry?" she asked as she ran after him reaching the outside of the hospital where Ryan found a garbage can and promptly threw up in it

"Its Kelsi" he said wiping his mouth "She was pregnant" he finished as he sat down with his head between his knees

"You mean from your trip to New York" she said sitting down next to him

"Yeah, she lost...she lost..." he leaned over and threw up again

"I'm so sorry" Sharpay said rubbing his back knowing what he had meant "But you need to go back in there she needs you now more than anything to be there for her"

"How can I Shar? I mean I knock her up and then leave for her to get attacked and loose the baby what if she doesn't want anything to do with me ever again?" he asked

"You don't know that Ryan, but all I do know is that if you don't go back in there you'll regret it" Sharpay said picking her brother up and heading back inside

Ryan headed back into Kelsi's room she was lying there by herself with her hands on her stomach silently crying, he walked over to her and gave her a kiss on her cheek hoping not to startle her

"I'm so sorry" he said over and over again, she grabbed her notepad and wrote down something

'I'm sorry too,' she wrote

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed it was not that easy to write


	10. Chapter 10

Living Without You  
Part 10

Thank you guys for all your reviews and thank you thank you thank you! to eccy, you keep me going when I become my own worst critic. Anyhow I'll try and not be too dramatic on this chapter but I don't make any promises

* * *

Two days later

Kelsi was lying in her hospital bed with all of the Wildcats surrounding her, she didn't mind that much, it was nice to know that they loved, supported and cared for her even when she felt like she didn't want it. She wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying, it had something to do with a camping trip Chad, Taylor, Gabriella, and Troy had gone on.

"Yeah and Taylor thought we should do it outside, until it started raining." Chad said smiling, as Taylor started to blush.

They carried on laughing until Kelsi's doctor knocked on the door.

"All right guys I need to see Kelsi so if you wouldn't mind waiting outside for a bit?" The doctor said, shooing the teens out of the room.

"You too Mr. Evans." The doctor motioned towards Ryan.

"Is it all right if I stay?" Ryan asked, taking Kelsi's hand.

"Is this okay with you, Kelsi?" The doctor asked, and Kelsi gave him a weak uncertain nod.

"All right he can stay." The doctor said as he took a seat across from Kelsi and Ryan. "Kelsi today we want to take out your breathing tube, your oxygen levels have been pretty good these last couple of days, and we think its time to take it out"

"Are you sure?" Ryan asked "I mean is it going to be okay?" He finished, squeezing Kelsi's hand.

"She'll be just fine now Mr. Evans, we have been monitoring her for two days now and she seems to be doing just fine." The doctor finished, grabbing his gloves and motioning to the nurse to get ready. "Now what I want you to do is take a deep breath in when I tell you to and as I pull the tube out. You need to blow really hard like your blowing out candles all right?" he asked unhooking the monitors to the breathing tube. "All right, deep breath in, and blow" he said, pulling the tube out. Kelsi coughed and gagged for a minute until it finally subsided.

Kelsi had never been happier to have that out of her body. "Thank you" she said weakly, nobody really being able to hear her but the doctor.

"Your welcome Kelsi, now get some rest I'll come back later to check on you." The doctor smiled at both Ryan and Kelsi, leaving the room. Ryan immediately went back to her side, holding her hand.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, a little over protectively.

"I'm fine Ryan," she whispered. "I just need something to drink my throat is all dry" she coughed.

"All right, I'll send the guys back in while I get you something to drink," Ryan said, ducking out of the room. As he left the others came back in, smiling at the fact that Kelsi was finally off of the ventilator and was able to talk to them.

"There you are, playmaker." Troy said, smiling at her and received a weak smile back.

"How are you feeling now?" Gabriella smiled.

"I'm just glad to be able to talk now, I can never get a word in edgewise with you guys always yammering." She whispered, her throat still sore, hoping to get a laugh out of their solemn faces, they were acting like she was dead or something. She was just fine and wished that they would all stop treating her like a baby. They all laughed, and Ryan came back in out of breath and holding a pitcher of water.

"So the doctor says to drink carefully, you don't want to over do yourself." Ryan said, pouring her a glass.

"Thank you, Ryan." She sighed, taking an uneasy sip off the cup and spilling some of it on herself.

"I got it!" Ryan said, running over to her mopping up the mess.

"Ryan it's all right" Kelsi said, trying to take the napkin and wipe herself up. 'Why was Ryan acting this way?' she thought to herself.

"No its not. I've got it, you don't want to get your bandages wet" he said, dabbing the spot near the bandage, tears forming in his eyes. The act scared his friends and Gabriella came up to him stopping his hand.

"Come on Ryan, when was the last time you ate?" She asked, taking his hand away from Kelsi's chest.

"Its okay, I'm fine, you guys go eat" Ryan said, trying to get the napkin back from Gabriella.

"Gabriella is right, the girls can stay here with Kelsi, lets get something to eat" Troy interjected, trying to keep his friend from falling apart.

"All right, I'll be right back" Ryan sighed defeatedly, he kissed Kelsi on the forehead, followed the guys out of the room, and headed towards the cafeteria. They grabbed their food and all sat down, the guys were looking at each other as they saw Ryan wolf down his food, they weren't sure if it was from him being in the army or him wanting to get back to Kelsi.

"Slow down Ry" Chad said pulling his tray away from him.

"Yeah its okay, the girls are up there with her, she'll be okay" Troy smiled.

* * *

Back in Kelsi's room

"You know you guys didn't have to stay here" Kelsi said, grabbing the remote and flicking the TV on.

"Of course we did why would we leave?" Gabriella asked, sitting down next to Kelsi's bed.

"Well I mean....It's just that...." Kelsi stumbled "Why would you want to stay with me when you could be hanging out with your boyfriends?" She sighed, playing with her sheets.

"Kelsi I'll tell you the same thing I told your parents" Sharpay said, looking her in the eyes. "You're my soon to be sister in law and you're not getting rid of me that easy"

"Who says Ryan even wants me anymore Sharpay?" Kelsi asked, the loudness of her voice startling her "He leaves me to get attacked by some creep and then I go and lose his baby" she started to cry.

Taylor, Gabriella, and Martha were all stunned, as they all looked at each other not knowing that their small friend was pregnant with Ryan's child.

"Kelsi, it's not your fault" Sharpay said, sitting on Kelsi's bed taking her hand.

"Yes it is, this never would of happened if I had my drivers license, or I took that ride from Jason, or heck even if I wasn't even dating Ryan in the first place" she cried.

"Kelsi, I know you're angry" Martha said, trying to keep Kelsi from losing her mind.

"Dammed right I'm angry!" Kelsi yelled.

"Honey, you're angry at the wrong person. Be angry at the man who did this to you not yourself or Ryan" Martha finished, tears stinging her own eyes.

"I'm not mad at Ryan, I just don't know what to do." Kelsi felt herself finally breaking down from all that happened, and it left the girls stunned. They had never seen Kelsi become so emotionally unglued before.

"Look honey, I know its hard for you right now, and none of us in this room will ever really know what you're going through, but you and Ryan need to talk this out before it destroys you both." Gabriella said, looking deep into Kelsi's eyes with compassion.

"I know" Kelsi sighed. "It's just how are we supposed to get over this? I mean what do we have to do to get things back to where they belong?"

"You'll find a way I know it" Sharpay smiled

* * *

Cafeteria

Ryan sat there watching Chad pull away his food and grabbed for it.

"Come on guys, I need to get back to Kelsi" Ryan said, reaching for his food as Chad pulled it away again.

"Nope, not going to happen until you talk to us, Evans." Chad said.

"Why do you want to talk? Kelsi is up there and she needs me, I don't have time for these games" Ryan said standing up in an attempt to walk out of the cafeteria. Troy stood up and got in his way.

"You need to calm down, Ryan" Troy said putting his hands up. "Kelsi is up there and isn't going anywhere, but you need to stay down here with us at least until you talk about what's going on." Ryan looked at Troy with his face starting to redden, he looked as if he wanted to punch Troy straight in the face, and even felt his hand start to ball into a fist.

"Get out of my way Troy or I'll have to...I'll have to" he said getting angrier and angrier.

"Get what Ryan? Angry? come on, punch me I know you want to" Troy said, egging him on.

"I'm not playing Troy" Ryan said feeling the anger rise up more and more. He reached back and hit Troy smack dab on his nose. He watched his friend fall to the floor with a loud 'oomph'. He felt bad but part of him was tired of having everyone tell him what to do. He was about to help him up, when he changed his mind, and with tears in his eyes stormed out of the cafeteria.

"It's okay" Troy said, holding his nose as the guys came up to check on him. Chad handed Troy a napkin for his bloody nose and followed Ryan outside of the hospital.

"Hey Ryan!" Chad yelled catching up to Ryan who was walking nowhere.

"Get away from me, Chad" Ryan said, kicking a random light post and ignoring the pain of a possible broken toe.

"Ryan, listen to me" Chad said, finally catching up with him. "I'm not mad about what happened in there, I think sometimes Troy needs a punch in the face" Chad laughed,  
"But if you don't let all your anger out you might up hurting someone else besides Troy"

"Yeah, like who?" Ryan asked.

"Kelsi" he said sadly. "Look I know you're angry and I don't blame you, but you need to get your anger out or it will blow up in your face."

"I'm not mad at Kelsi" Ryan said looking down.

"I know you're not man, but the way you were acting in there is scaring not only us but Kelsi and she doesn't need that right now"

"Don't you think I know that? Don't you think that all this is killing me on the inside? Don't you think that there is nothing I would love to do more then track that son of a bitch down and kill him?" Ryan yelled tears stinging his eyes "That asshole took away Kelsi's baby, our baby!"

Chad stood stunned, he didn't know what to say or how to react. He knew something had happened but neither Kelsi nor Ryan had told the gang that she was pregnant with Ryan's child, or that the creep made her lose the baby.

"Ry... Ryan, I'm so sorry man I didn't know" Chad stuttered, looking down at the ground.

"Nobody knew, not even Kelsi, the doctor told her mom after the attack" Ryan answered his voice getting a little softer.

"Well you know what you need to do now?" Chad asked.

"What's that Chad?" Ryan asked wiping his face.

"You need to go up there and be the best boyfriend you can be. Kelsi is going to go through a lot, and the one person she's going to need by her side is you" Chad said putting a hand on Ryan's back in comfort "So what we're going to do is go to the gift shop, and buy the biggest bouquet of flowers, my treat." Chad laughed, taking Ryan back to the hospital.

"You think she wants a box of chocolates too?" Ryan joked "I mean besides, you said it was your treat." The boys headed back towards the cafeteria laughing and saw Troy, Zeke and Jason sitting there, Troy had an icepack held up to his nose, and smiled when he saw Ryan come in.

"Hey look man I'm sorry" Ryan said, coming towards his friend "It's just.."

"Look, I know its all right" Troy said, cutting him off "Just remember next time I hit back" Troy joked.

The boys went into the gift shop looking around, finding teddy bears that said congratulations and balloons that had baby's on them and 'get well soon' written on them.

"What looks good?" Chad asked Ryan who was looking at a card that had a mother holding a baby on the front, Ryan looked at it with tears in his eyes "Ryan you okay?" He tried to ask before Ryan ran out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Jason asked Chad.

"I don't know," Chad said, running after Ryan. Chad chased Ryan to the parking lot "Dude where you going?" he asked as he caught up to him, almost out of breath.

"I need a ride" Ryan huffed, looking for his mom's car "I need to go get something"

"Dude I'm parked right there" Chad said pointing to his car "Why? Dude if its about that card its okay its just a card"

"Its not about the dammed card, I need a ride" Ryan demanded "Will you give me a ride to the mall?" he asked

"Yeah, lets go" Chad answered heading towards his car "Why are we going to the mall?" he asked after they got in and buckled up

"There is something I need to buy that isn't in a gift shop" Ryan said as they drove off.

* * *

Outside of Kelsi's room

"What do you mean they just took off?" Sharpay said, not wanting to wake up Kelsi who was fast asleep.

"I don't know, we took Ryan to the gift shop so he could buy Kelsi some flowers, he was looking at some card and he and Chad just took off out of there" Troy rambled. Sharpay got out her cell phone and quickly dialed Ryan's cell phone, but he wasn't picking it up.

"He's not answering" Sharpay said, snapping her phone shut.

"I'll try." Taylor said dialing Chad's phone, who finally picked up.

"Hey Tay." Chad said cheerfully.

"Where are you two?" Taylor scolded.

"We're at the mall, look I can't go into details but could you girls do us a favor?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Taylor asked, wondering what her boyfriend was up to.

"Ryan wants me to ask you girls to get Kelsi dolled up" Chad said, thinking Ryan was joking.

"Dolled up?" Taylor asked "Why?"

"Like I said can't go into details but just do her hair and make-up if you wouldn't mind" Chad said quickly "Look I gotta go just have her ready in a half an hour" Chad said, hanging up his phone.

"Chad?" Taylor yelled into her phone "Chad?" she yelled again, when he didn't answer she shut her phone and looked over at Gabriella.

"What did he say?" Gabriella asked.

"He said to get Kelsi dolled up that Ryan has a surprise" Taylor smiled to herself, thinking she had an idea of what he meant.

"Dolled up?" Gabriella said flabbergasted "Do any of you have a make-up kit handy?" she asked the girls.

"Who do you think you're asking?" Sharpay said, as she went into her purse and pulled out a mini make-up bag "Now if you'll excuse us gentlemen we have some work to do" she finished closing the door on the boys. They all shrugged at each other and decided to just wait in the waiting room for Chad and Ryan.

* * *

Kelsi's Room

Kelsi awoke to the girls standing over her, while it frightened her a bit she was comforted when Sharpay put a hand on her shoulder.

"How was your nap?" She asked.

"It felt good" Kelsi said rubbing her eyes and putting her glasses back on.

"Good, we got a message from Ryan and Chad and they wanted us to do something for you" Sharpay said as she hit the 'call nurse' button.

"Yes Ms. Neilson" the nurse asked.

"Kelsi needs her hair washed can we get a basin and some shampoo?" Sharpay yelled into the intercom.

"What's going on?" Kelsi asked, as she saw her friends getting stuff out of Sharpay's make-up bag.

"We're making you feel better" Sharpay said as the nurse walked in with a basin and some shampoo "Thank you" she said taking the items from her, and shut the door in her face. She placed the basin under Kelsi's head and began to wash her hair. As she finished she took a mini hair dryer and dried off Kelsi's hair and pulled out a barrette and placed it in her hair "Fabulous" she smiled looking at her handy work. The other girls got to work on putting make-up on Kelsi as they finished they stood back and smiled.

"You look great" Martha smiled as she handed Kelsi a compact mirror. Kelsi couldn't argue she did look fabulous she hadn't felt this beautiful since Ryan and she went to New York and she had seen herself in the dress he bought for her and it brought a smile to her face.

"Now that's one satisfied customer" Gabriella joked at Kelsi's smile.

* * *

Mall

"Okay Evans, why are we here?" Chad asked as they entered the mall. Ryan didn't answer but headed off into a small jewelry shop "Whoa Ryan you're not going to do what I think you are, are you?"

"I asked her before I left for boot camp and she kinda turned me down, but I'm not taking no for an answer this time" Ryan said smiling at the man behind the counter as he started to look at the selections.

"But Ryan, I mean you guys are young" Chad fumbled out.

"So my parents were still practically teenagers when they got married" Ryan answered

"Yeah but that was, ya know that was then. I mean come on you're leaving back for California in little over a week. What are you two going to do then?" Chad asked.

"We'll figure something out" Ryan said, eyeing a beautiful ring "That's it!" he exclaimed pointing at a ring, it was a simple gold ring with four small diamonds on each side leading up to a 1 carat diamond in the middle.

"That's beautiful man" Chad said, admiring it. Ryan got the shop owners attention and asked for him to pull the ring out.

"Are you sure, young sir?" the owner asked.

"Yep that's it" Ryan said as he admired the ring one more time, putting his credit card on the case in front of them.

"Yes sir" the man said as he sprinted over to the cash register and priced out the ring "Okay here ya go" he said, handing Ryan the receipt to sign. Ryan signed it and handed the man the ring so he could get a box for it "Would you like to gift wrap it sir?" the man asked with a huge smile on his face.

"No thank you" Ryan answered.

"Good luck Mr. Evans" the man said as Ryan took the package and walked out of the store.

"Wow, Evans" Chad said as he took the ring from Ryan and admired it one more time "You think she'll say yes this time?"

"I hope so" Ryan answered, taking the ring back and holding it close to his heart. "Otherwise my short time here would be all for nothing"

* * *

Back at Kelsi's room

"Okay, you guys want to tell me what's going on?" Kelsi asked as she looked at her friends who were talking in hushed tones.

"Honey, I know about as much as you do." Taylor smiled, her phone started to ring again and she walked out of the room to answer it. "Hey Chad" she answered.

"Hey Tay, we're almost back we had to stop and get some things" Chad said as they pulled out of the mall parking lot.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Taylor asked, the line went silent for a minute while Chad conferred with Ryan.

"Should I tell her?" Chad asked Ryan.

"I don't see why not" Ryan smiled as Chad put the phone back to his ear.

"Are you with Kelsi right now?" Chad asked.

"No, I'm outside the room right now" Taylor said looking back at the door.

"Well, Ryan plans on proposing" Chad smiled and pulled the phone away from his ear anticipating a high pitched scream from Taylor and wasn't disappointed as he heard her squealing with delight.

"But Chad, I mean will she say yes? Ya know with all that just happened" Taylor said coming to her senses.

"I don't know Tay, we'll just have to find out." Chad said, sobering up to the realization. "Look we're almost there I'll see you in a bit" he said, quickly hanging up.

Taylor headed back into the room an uncertain smile on her face.

"Who was that?" Kelsi asked.

"It was Chad, Ryan and he will be up here in a minute." Taylor said, resuming her seat next to Gabriella who was in the middle of playing Gin against Martha. Kelsi shook her head, her friends were up to something and she wasn't fooled by any of it.

Chad and Ryan pulled up to the hospital and Ryan sat there taking a deep breath almost feeling sick to his stomach.

"You okay?" Chad asked, unbuckling his seat belt.

"I think so" Ryan said, taking a few more deep breaths.

"Come on man, it's now or never." Chad said, handing Ryan another box, and the bouquet of roses they bought at the mall. Ryan gave the ring box one more squeeze and exited the car heading back up to Kelsi. He passed Kelsi's parents and his mom.

"Everything okay, Ducky?" Darby asked, as she saw the nervous look on his face.

"Everything is all right mom" Ryan said "At least I hope it will be" he finished as he walked towards Kelsi's room, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door, Sharpay answered and smiled at her brother.

"She's all yours." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and walked out of the room.

"Good luck" Taylor smiled, giving him a kiss on his other cheek, and walked out with a very confused Gabriella and Martha following her.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked Taylor, who just smiled and headed back into the waiting room.

Ryan took off his hat and ran a sweaty palm through his stubble reminding himself that he would soon need a new haircut before he returned to boot camp. He walked into the room, and saw Kelsi sitting on her bed staring out the window. He cleared his throat and noticed her jump slightly.

"Hey baby," he said, smiling putting the stuff on the portable table next to her bed, and gave her a kiss full on the lips but felt her slightly pull back "I'm sorry" he blushed.

"No, no its okay, I'm just ya know" Kelsi said looking down at her hands "Look Ryan" Kelsi started "I want to talk about earlier"

"Me too," Ryan cut her off "I'm sorry about my little freak out, I shouldn't have done that" Ryan said sheepishly "But this isn't easy for either of us and I'm not sure how to deal with it"

"It's just that Ryan, how do we deal with this? I mean I'm not even sure how to deal with what life has given us" Kelsi winced all of a sudden feeling very small.

"Kelsi, all couples have to deal with life's little hiccups and we are not any different, I mean when Sharpay had called me and told me what happened I felt like a piece of me died, and when I found out that not only had something happened to not only you but also our baby I felt like I wanted to go track somebody, anybody down and beat the crap out of them.. Kelsi...this...is well lets just say that this isn't easy for me to say" he smiled "But I know that right now you're scared, and so am I, but I hope that if we can find a way to overcome this, I will be here with you forever. You don't have to say yes and I won't be heartbroken if you don't give me an answer before I leave but I want you to know this, I will spend the rest of my life making sure nobody ever does this to you again. So I know I've asked you this before, so I hope that I can ask you again and you won't shoot me down" Ryan grabbed the small box out of his pocket "Kelsi Marie Neilson, will you marry me?" He asked, opening the box. Kelsi gasped, she had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

"Ryan, I...I don't know" Kelsi stumbled, thinking Ryan was joking.

"I figured you'd say that so I got you this" Ryan said handing her the second box, Kelsi gave him a sideways glance and opened it up revealing two tickets.

"Ryan?" she asked questioningly.

"They're two open tickets to New York" Ryan smiled at her "Just say the word and I won't return to California, instead I'll go to New York with you"

"I can't let you do that Ryan, I mean you have a duty." Kelsi said, closing the box.

"I also have a duty to you" Ryan said, taking her hand "Kelsi I can't go and leave you again, I wont do it" Ryan said, looking in her eyes. "I want to make sure you're safe every day and know that nothing ever bad will happen to you"

"I don't know Ryan" Kelsi sighed almost wanting to leave the room but fought the urge. "I mean can't you get in trouble for not going back, you know AWOL?"

"Well then we'll have to do deal with that when it comes" Ryan said, "so what's your answer?"

Kelsi wasn't sure, she knew she didn't want Ryan to leave but she knew she also didn't want Ryan to get in trouble and another piece of her wasn't even sure that she wanted to be with Ryan. All of her doubts and fears crept up inside of her and she felt like screaming.

"Ryan, I want to marry you don't doubt that, but I can't let you leave your other obligations" Kelsi sighed.

"I don't care about those other things, I only care about you" Ryan kissed her hand. Kelsi took a deep breath and looked at the tickets in her hand again. She wanted to be with Ryan forever, but her heart wasn't sure, after all that had happened would she really ever be happy with him, could she make a vow to stay with him in sickness and health? She took a deep breath looked in him in the eyes. She could only do this if he at least finished his duties in California.

"Ryan, I will marry you" Ryan practically leaped up in the air and slid the ring on her finger "But only if you promise me that you will go back to California and finish what you started" Kelsi said sternly.

"Are you sure?" he asked cautiously. "I mean I would rather be here with you"

"I know Ryan but I have the others here with me and they won't let me go to the bathroom without one or two of them following me. I don't think I have any problem with not having any protection" Kelsi laughed lightly.

"Oh! I almost forgot" Ryan said, grabbing the bouquet of roses "These are for you" he said, handing them to her. She inhaled deeply the scent and smiled.

"They're wonderful Ryan" she said, taking his hand.

Ryan sat down in the chair next to her bed and laid his head down on her shoulder, as Kelsi continued to stare at the ring on her finger wondering if she'd ever be able to make Ryan feel happy or if she'd ever be a good enough wife for him. The fears ran rampant through her mind as she closed her eyes and slowly let sleep find her again as she tried to quell her fears.

* * *

Is Kelsi really ready to marry Ryan, or did she just agree to it in fear of being alone?


	11. Chapter 11

Living Without You  
Part 11

Okay honestly after the last chapter, I'm at a loss for words. I mean this story has taken so much out of me mentally and physically, it's hard to write on such a touchy subject like rape and violence towards women. Just to let you know I'm no taking either lightly and neither is Kelsi for that matter.

But anyhow enjoy this next chapter. Its starts a week after the last chapter and Ryan has one more week with Kelsi before he has to head back to boot camp.

* * *

One week later

Kelsi stood in her hospital room and looked around her, she was going home today and she couldn't have been happier. She had just finished packing up the last of her things when a knock came on her door.

"Come in." she said softly.

"Ms. Neilson, I'm Detective Martin with the Albuquerque special task force." The older woman came in shaking Kelsi's hand, "I see you're going home today" she finished, seeing Kelsi's bag.

"Yeah, the doctor says I'm doing well enough to go home, besides I can't take one more day of hospital food." Kelsi joked. hoping to lighten the tense mood she felt.

"I need to talk to you about what happened." The detective said, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Why?" Kelsi whispered, scared to death of reliving the nightmare over again.

"Well Kelsi, can I call you Kelsi?" she asked softly.

"That's fine." Kelsi sighed, not even looking her in the eyes.

"From our files we can tell this isn't the first time this has happened to a young woman like yourself, in fact he has done this many times before in the same alleyway." Kelsi sat down on her bed staring absentmindedly at the detective.

"You mean this wasn't a random attack?" she asked, all of a sudden very aware of the scar forming on her chest.

"I'm afraid not." She answered "He's done this to at least five other women that we know of, and Kelsi I don't know how to tell you this but you're the only one to survive." she finished, and Kelsi felt like she was going to be sick.

"We need to find this guy Kelsi before he hurts someone else, and I'm hoping you can help us" Detective Martin sighed

"I'm not even sure I remember the whole thing." Kelsi answered. trying to keep herself upright.

"You don't have to answer any questions right now Kelsi, but I would like for you to come down to the station tomorrow and look at some snap shots just to make sure we know its the same guy," the detective said, handing Kelsi her card. "This is my number. If you need anything or want to tell me anything, call that number" she finished, walking out of the room.

Ryan walked in as soon as she exited and she smiled warmly at him.

"Who was that Kelsi?" Ryan asked sitting down next to Kelsi, who currently had her head in her hands

"A detective." Kelsi answered, straightening herself up and fidgeting with a shirt she was going to put in her bag.

"Did they find the guy?" Ryan asked. Kelsi didn't look Ryan in the eyes she just continued to fold her laundry and put it in her bag "Kelsi," Ryan said pulling her attention to him "What's wrong?" he asked

"Nothing, I'm ready to go" Kelsi said closing up her bag and heading for the door to sign herself out.

* * *

Outside of Kelsi's house

Kelsi sat in Sharpay's car with Ryan looking at her house

"Are you sure you want to go inside now?" Ryan asked, staring at Kelsi.

"I don't know, I mean if I go in there I have to deal with my father, but where else is there to go?" Kelsi asked nervously.

"You can always come back to my house, my mom wanted you and your parents to come over for dinner tonight anyway." Ryan smiled, Kelsi looked down at her hand where her engagement ring sat and looked back up at Ryan.

"I don't know Ryan, I mean I don't want to be a burden, I better just go inside" she finished, opening her car door.

"You want me help you with your stuff?" Ryan asked, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"No I got it, I'll give you a call later," she finished, pecking him lightly on the cheek, she grabbed her stuff and headed up to her front door. Ryan watched her go inside of the house and drove off. Something wasn't right with Kelsi and he could tell that whatever the detective had said had something to do with it

Kelsi walked into her house and saw her mom and dad sitting on the couch having yet another argument. "I'm home!" She called out to try and get their attention, DeAnna came running up to her enveloping her in a hug.

"How did you get home you were supposed to call us" DeAnna said taking Kelsi's face in her hands, and kissing her on the cheek.

"Ryan gave me a ride home" Kelsi said, and Luke let out a puff of air.

"Figures" he said, under his breath and walked out of the room.

"Mom is dad ever going to stay in the same room as Ryan and I?" Kelsi asked, as she watched her father walk out of the room.

"I don't know honey, you know your dad. You're his little girl and he's still trying to wrap his mind around all of this" DeAnna said, shaking her head.

"Yeah but what about New York?" Kelsi said knowing her dad didn't want her to go now. Her mom didn't answer Kelsi, all she did was wrap her in another hug and walk into the kitchen. Kelsi watched her mom walk off and her dad go to his secret stash of booze and pour himself another glass of scotch, what did she do to deserve this treatment? All she wanted was to leave all this behind and enjoy her life with Ryan but she wasn't even sure if she wanted that anymore. She walked up to her room and sat down on her bed, she grabbed out her phone and was going through the names when she finally dialed a number.

* * *

Evans residence

Ryan pulled up to his house and saw Sharpay running out to greet him "Hey!" she said, "You're finally back with my car." She looked inside "Where's Kelsi?" She asked fully expecting that Kelsi would come back to the house with Ryan.

"I offered to let her stay here but she wouldn't." Ryan said locking up her car and tossing her back her keys. "I don't know what's going on Sharpay, some detective came and saw her before we left the hospital and said something that got her all upset"

"Did you ask Kelsi about it?" Sharpay asked as they headed into the house

"Yes, but she changed the subject and wanted to leave the hospital" he finished opening the door for Sharpay and followed her inside.

"She's going through a lot right now Ryan, her dad wont even let her go to New York" Sharpay said as she made her way into their living room.

"What am I going to do?" Ryan asked, sitting down across from her and putting his head in his hands "I think she needs help, but what kind of help does she need? We've discussed her seeing a psychiatrist but she wouldn't listen, and changed the subject again"

"Well maybe mom knows somebody that will help" Ryan said standing up to search for his mother and finding her in her room. "Mom?" he asked cautiously knocking on the door.

"Yes Ducky?" she answered turning off her yoga tape and standing up to greet her son.

"Did I interrupt you?" Ryan asked.

"Of course not sweetie, what's the matter?" Darby asked as she sat down on her bed wiping her forehead

"Its Kelsi" Ryan answered handing his mom a water bottle "She's not good"

"Of course not Ryan she was attacked" Darby said, taking a sip.

"Its not that mom, its just when I went to take her home today a detective came by and saw her, and something she said really frightened Kelsi," Ryan said, remembering the scared look on Kelsi's face.

"Did you ask her what's wrong?" Darby asked.

"Yea, but she wouldn't answer me, I'm really scared for her mom." Ryan said, rubbing his arms in self comfort.

"I know you are honey, but Kelsi is going through a lot and she doesn't know how to deal with this. What she really needs right now is you." Darby finished giving her son a hug.

"I'm not even sure she wants that" Ryan said, "I offered to take her back here but she didn't want any of it"

"Why don't I talk to her Ryan" Darby offered "I think she would feel better if she talked to a woman who has been in the same situation as her"

"You were attacked mom?" Ryan asked, not knowing.

"Yes Ducky I was, when I was pregnant with you and Sharpay. Someone broke into the house and attacked me while your father was out on a business trip, I was afraid that I had lost you guys but you were both fine but I wasn't for the longest time. Kelsi needs to know that its not just going away like a paper cut, this wound cuts more deeper and its going to need time to heal"

* * *

Nielson home

Kelsi hit the enter button on a familiar name and waited until the other line picked up.

"Hello?" the voice asked

"Chad?" she asked her voice shaking, she never really talked to him and she felt it was a mistake to call him.

"Kelsi? Everything okay?" he asked, worried for his friend.

"Yeah its just I needed someone to talk to" Kelsi said shakily

"Where is Ryan?" Chad asked "I mean isn't that what fiancées are for?"

"He went home, I just need someone to talk to that's not my fiancée or the girls, so you were the last one I thought of" Kelsi said, almost regretting her words.

"Want me to come over?" Chad asked.

"Sure, maybe we could go get some coffee or something" Kelsi said.

"Sure, I'll be there in ten minutes" Chad said, hanging up, grabbing his car keys and rushing downstairs to his car and driving off to Kelsi's. Ten minutes later as promised Kelsi heard Chad pull up, she ran downstairs ignoring her parents and leaving her cell phone behind she climbed into his car.

"Nice wheels, Chad" she smiled knowing he finally got what he wanted.

"Thanks Neilson, so where to?" he asked pulling out of the driveway.

"There is a coffee shop down the street" she said pointing in the right direction. They pulled up to the cafe and ordered their drinks. Sitting outside Kelsi took a deep breath and checked out her surroundings, remembering the last time she was there was with Ryan the night he told her he was joining the army.

"Everything okay, Kelsi?" Chad asked seeing the faraway look on her face.

"I don't know if I can do this" Kelsi said, staring at her cup.

"I can take you home if you want" Chad stumbled, getting ready to stand up.

"No," she laughed "I don't know if I can keep doing this with Ryan, I mean he's been so good to me and all I seem to do lately is push him away." Kelsi rambled

"I see" Chad said in deep thought "Kelsi do something for me," Chad said perking up "Stand up"

"What?" she was stunned and didn't want to stand up

"Come on" he said, pulling her up.

"Chad, we're in the middle of a coffee shop" she said, smiling at the older couple sitting next to them.

"Who cares" he said, also smiling at them "Now close your eyes" he finished as Kelsi obliged "Now what I want you to do is scream at the top of your lungs 'I'm not a victim and I love Ryan Evans." Kelsi opened her eyes and looked at Chad as if he had bugs crawling out of his nose. Chad put his hands back on her eyes and forced her to them.

"I'm not a victim and I love Ryan Evans" Kelsi muttered inaudibly

"That's not it come on Kelsi all those years of drama class, and you don't know how to project come on with force this time" Chad said patting her on the back.

"I'M NOT A VICTIM AND I LOVE RYAN EVANS!" Kelsi yelled out feeling the anger flow out of her, albeit briefly

"Now that's better, just one more thing" he said grabbing their cups and heading back to his car "I'm taking you somewhere you need to be." He opened the car door for her and gave her a slight hug before she got in "You're not alone Kelsi everyone especially Ryan is here for you" he said letting her go. Kelsi loved the warm feeling she felt from his hug and got in the car. They drove a short way down the street and sat outside a building.

"Where are we?" she asked looking at the slightly dilapidated building

"It's crisis group, my aunt runs it and I told her about you and she had wanted me to bring you here but I was going to wait" Chad said undoing his seatbelt and turned to face her. "Now I know you might not want to go in, that's fine but I thought you should know that there are people here to help you." Kelsi took a deep breath and took another long look at the building

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to go inside" Kelsi said undoing her own seatbelt and exited the car. She got to the doors and felt tears stinging her eyes as Chad moved ahead of her and opened the door, he put an arm around her and led her inside. Kelsi immediately saw his aunt come up to greet them.

"Hello Chad" she said walking up to them giving Chad a kiss on his cheek "This is Kelsi?" she asked smiling at Kelsi.

"Yes Auntie Gina I figured she could come and check out a group session if that's all right with you." Chad asked.

"Sure the more the merrier" Gina said, directing them towards a small room that held a bunch of chairs. Several women were already there and smiled at Kelsi as she entered the room. She took a seat next to Chad way in the back of the room and listened to the other women talk about their attacks, some were there cause their husbands abused them, some were there cause their fathers abused them all of them seemed to have a sob story. That was when Gina turned to Kelsi "Would you like to share, Kelsi?" she asked as the other ladies faced her, Kelsi felt like the room had gotten smaller, her stomach started to churn and she could even feel her face start to get green.

"Um...I..." she stuttered out

"It's all right Kelsi, we're all here for you" a young woman named Jennifer said. Kelsi took a long look at the woman, she was a younger woman maybe not too much older then Kelsi she had short shoulder length brown hair and glasses that seemed to fit her face well. Jennifer was there cause her mother abused her and her father sexually assaulted her when she was younger, she had seemed to be doing better she was even married with two kids, but the pain and trauma of her past was still plaguing her so her husband had brought her back for a few more sessions to help her through.

"I really don't want to talk" Kelsi said tears threatening to fall down her face, she turned away from the group and began to walk out when Chad stopped her "Chad I cant go back in there" Kelsi cried

"Shh, shh its okay" Chad said enveloping her in a hug "You don't have to if you don't want to." Chad continued to hold her when Jennifer came up to them holding out a tissue for Kelsi

"Here I figured she could use this." Jennifer smiled at Chad "We've all been there Kelsi, nobody is judging you"

"Its not that, I don't want to talk about it" Kelsi sniffed taking the tissue from Jennifer "Its just, its too early"

"I know honey, but running away from your problems isn't going to solve anything, could you at least come back for a little while?" Jennifer asked pointing at the group

"I guess." Kelsi answered after a small pause. The group continued on for another hour and Kelsi just listened to their stories and how they were all dealing with their emotional baggage but she still didn't want to say anything. After group ended Kelsi got up and Jennifer wrapped her in a tight hug

"You did great" she smiled

"But I didn't say anything" Kelsi protested

"You came back that's all that matters" Jennifer said giving her another hug "This is my number call me whenever you need to talk, I mean it" Jennifer said passing her a small piece of paper with her name and number on it.

"Thank you Jennifer" Kelsi called out as the other woman grabbed her things and headed towards the exit

"Call me Jenn, all my friends do" she smiled back and left the building. Kelsi smiled down at the piece of paper in her hands and returned to Chad's side who was talking animatedly to his aunt

"You ready to go?" She asked as she caught up with them

"I see you met Jennifer?" Gina asked "You'd do right to stick with her, she's definitely one of my success stories"

"Success stories?" Kelsi asked stunned

"Yeah a few years ago she was just like you she wouldn't talk to anyone or want to come to any sessions but eventually we broke through her shell and now she's more outgoing and active in not only her life but her husband's and children's lives" Gina smiled. Kelsi just smiled and took one last look at Gina bidding her farewell and heading out the door with Chad in tow

"How you feeling?" Chad asked

"A little bit better." Kelsi answered

* * *

Kelsi's house

They arrived back at Kelsi's house not too long after to find a very worried Ryan running up to Chad's car

"Where were you two?" he asked opening Kelsi's door for her

"I took her somewhere she needed to be" Chad answered, getting out of the car.

"Where did you go?" Ryan asked Kelsi softly. Kelsi looked up at Chad asking him silently if she should tell him, he smiled and nodded back at her "Chad took me to a crisis group to talk to other women who have been in my situation" Kelsi answered.

"Thats great" Ryan smiled "When are you going back?" he asked putting an arm around her

"Well they meet every other Tuesday" Kelsi answered feeling great that Ryan supported her, she took a long look at her front door and heaved a heavy sigh "I don't want to go back in there" she said nodding at her front door

"Why not Kelsi?" Ryan asked, almost knowing the answer.

"I just don't, can we go back to your house?" she asked.

"Sure, don't you want to tell your parents you're back and now you're leaving?" Ryan asked heading back towards his car.

"No, I'll call them later" Kelsi lied as Ryan opened the car door for her.

* * *

A/N: Okay I decided to end the chapter there, I know kind of a cliffhanger. The adding of Jennifer was from my own brain and yes to those who ask before you do Jennifer is me but it's not completely based off of me.


	12. Chapter 12

Living Without You

Part 12

**You know, originally this wasn't supposed to go past 10 chapters......Oh well I'm glad you guys are enjoying it, and please review more. They keep me going and get me writing more chapters.**

* * *

After saying a quick goodbye to Chad, Ryan got in his car and started it up, looking over at Kelsi worriedly.

"So where to?" he asked, as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Anywhere but here" Kelsi mumbled. Ryan gave her a gentle smile and drove off. They drove for quite a while, and Kelsi even managed to fall asleep. When she awoke she saw a familiar sight. 'Lava Springs' the sign on the gate said, and they pulled up into the parking lot.

"Ryan?" she questioned as he turned off the car.

"Is this okay?" he asked as he turned towards her.

"It's fine, but won't your parents be mad?" She asked.

"Nah. Besides, I haven't been here in a while, not since last summer, actually" Ryan smiled. "Come on" he said, as he got out and opened the door for her.

"Good evening Mr. Evans" Mr Fulton came running up to them out of breath "What brings you here, ah Ms. Neilson." he smiled, seeing Kelsi with Ryan.

"We're here for a short visit" Ryan answered as he shook Mr Fulton's hand. "We'll just be heading up to my suite now" Ryan finished, taking Kelsi's hand and heading up to where he had his own little suite.

Kelsi walked inside, she was stunned at how beautiful it was and it was definitely his. He had a good collection of hats hanging on a wall and the other parts of the walls were covered in playbills from various shows and posters of music artists.

"Wow" she breathed "this place is huge." Ryan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, she smiled and leaned into his embrace.

"I love you." He whispered into her ear, and it sent instant shivers up her spine. She wished with all her heart she could return the favor, but her body was still adjusting to losing the baby. She unconsciously put her arms around her stomach, and Ryan turned her around to face him "You okay?" he asked, taking her into his arms.

"It's nothing." She quickly answered.

"Kelsi?" He asked again almost pleading. Kelsi unhooked herself from Ryan's embrace and sat down on the bed, fighting off tears.

"I'm sorry Ryan," she said, swiping at a stray tear on her cheek. "It's just, why do you still want to be with me?"

"What kind of question is that?" He asked sitting down next to her

"It's been one that's been bugging me for a while," Kelsi sobbed.

Ryan took a deep breath, grabbed her hands, and looked her in the eyes. "Kelsi, after all this time, don't you know why I love you?" Ryan took a steadying breath before continuing, knowing he was treading on thin ice. "Don't you realize all of the many reasons why I love you."

Kelsi's cloudy blue eyes met Ryan's as she desperately latched on to his words, hoping beyond hope they would fill the emptiness that seemed like a never ending black hole.

"Why?" She asked softly, her eyes begging Ryan to help her, to heal her.

Ryan reached over, taking infinite care as his fingers gently grazed her cheek. "I love your warmth and generosity, your caring and concerned heart, your-"

"Stop." Kelsi interrupted with a ragged whisper. Forcing Ryan to stop describing who she used to be, when all she felt like was a former shell of her old self. "I'm sorry Ryan. I just can't do this anymore" she cried as she took off his ring, and set it on his dresser as she walked out the door.

Ryan watched her walk out, feeling heartbroken. It wasn't because of Kelsi rejecting him, but because she was hurt and he had no idea how to fix it. He took the ring off his dresser and looked at it. This wasn't the way he wanted to end his time here, he wanted to make Kelsi feel better not only emotionally but physically and he had no idea how it was going to happen. He weighed the ring in his hand one more time and set off out of the room to find her.

He found her downstairs in the small music room where she used to play when she and the other Wildcats had worked there. She was playing a familiar tune, 'Everyday'. It was the song that helped Troy and Gabriella get back together in what seemed like a lifetime ago. He watched her as she got immersed in the song, and he quietly approached, not wanting to startle her as he let her finish. He let a small cough escape him, but she didn't turn around.

"Leave me alone" she muttered.

"I can't do that Kelsi" He whispered, finding a chair and sitting down on it next to her piano bench.

"Why? I'm just some loser who gets knocked up by her boyfriend then loses the baby cause she's too stupid to have her own license." She spat back, not looking at him.

"You are NOT a loser, Kelsi" Ryan said firmly as he moved closer. "You are beautiful and I'm proud for that moment that you were the mother of my child" he said looking down at her stomach and placing a hand on it "Our baby"

Kelsi fought back tears, as she felt the warmth of Ryan's hand on her stomach. "You know, I had a dream about our little baby while I was in the hospital." she sighed.

"Really?" he asked, moving closer to her "Tell me about it?" He requested softly.

"Well I dreamt that she had your beautiful blonde hair, my smile, your grace and our talent" she said dreamily.

"She would have been perfect" Ryan sighed.

"It's just …will I able to have another child?" She asked turning to face him "Would you even want another child with me?" she said, fighting off more tears.

"Of course I do Kelsi, I want to know what its like to be a father and raise children. To go through everything from first birthdays to first days of school to graduations, marriage grandbabies everything that comes with being a parent. And I want to experience it with no one else but you" he finished. "Mind if I join you?" he asked pointing at the piano, Kelsi smiled at him and scooted aside so he could sit beside her at the piano. He started playing a tune that Kelsi was familiar with "Remember this one?" he asked smiling. Kelsi remembered it, how could she not.

"I just wanna be with you" she smiled and started singing the first few lines.

"It's funny" he said as he continued to play the chorus "I was so nervous" Ryan smiled

"Yeah right" Kelsi laughed "You basically said I was going with you whether I liked it or not. Truth is I did not mind"

"No really I was, I remember walking in there and seeing you in that beautiful blue top and that clip in your hair. I thought I'd never seen you look so beautiful" he smiled, "But your beauty shines every single day."

Kelsi looked down, unable to control the pink blush that spread across her cheeks. When her eyes rose to his, they were not clear and confidant, they were scared and unsure.

"How can you look at me and see any semblance of beauty?" She whispered. "I-I'm...dirty." The last word came out in a choked sob.

Ryan's heart broke into a million pieces at her words.

"No, you are not." He started, noting that Kelsi still could not make eye contact with him, he gently lifted her chin up to face him. "I will tell you how beautiful you are every second of the day if I have to, until you believe it."

Kelsi saw the truth in his eyes and she believed him. She did not yet understand why he still felt this way about her, but she did not doubt his sincerity.

"I love you Ryan."

Ryan let the words seep into his skin, taking them in. He recognized what a huge step that admission was for Kelsi, that was a baby step in the right, the positive direction. "Then will you do me a favor? You don't have to if you don't want to" Ryan asked.

"Sure" she answered, wiping the tears from her eyes, as Ryan reached back into his pocket and pulled out the ring.

"Take this back, I know you think that you're not worthy of wearing it, but in my eyes you are." He took her hand and restored the ring to her finger.

"I'm sorry I freaked out like that" Kelsi said, as she adjusted the ring.

"It's okay, Kelsi. Do you want to know why?" he asked with a smile, and she nodded faintly. "You needed to, Kelsi. Keeping all your anger and fears inside is not good for you or your soul."

They sat there for a while, playing random songs that came off the top of their heads. They even managed to make a few bucks from passersby who put money on the piano after enjoying their playing. Ryan glanced up at the clock and noticed it was getting pretty late. Kelsi was starting to nod off, every few notes she'd hit a wrong key.

"You ready to head to bed?" Ryan asked, as he stretched out his arms and legs. Kelsi yawned and nodded her head. She stood up and grabbed Ryan's hand, heading towards his room and going inside.

"I'll just go get my purse and we can go home" Kelsi said, looking around for her purse.

"We can stay here if you want" Ryan suggested, pointing towards the bed "I mean we don't have to go home tonight, it is pretty late." Kelsi weighed the options in her head, and her exhaustion won.

"I don't see why not." Kelsi yawned again, and looked up as a thought dawned. "I don't have anything to wear" she mumbled. Ryan walked over to his dresser and took out one of his shirts and a pair of sleep pants.

"These might fit." he said, handing them to her. She left the room and came back a few minutes later, laughing. Ryan smiled, it felt good to see her smile and laugh again "Had to do some adjustments?" he laughed, seeing that she had rolled up the pants a few times and the shirt was hanging down to her knees.

"I think this might be the first and last time I wear your pants, Ryan." Kelsi laughed "But I don't mind wearing the shirt, it smells just like your cologne."

"It's one of my favorites." Ryan smiled, pulling back the covers and allowing her to get into bed before joining her. Kelsi rolled over towards him and looked deep into his eyes, and sighed. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm perfect" she smiled, taking his hand.

"Can I ask you a question, Kelsi?" he asked.

"Sure, what is it?" she answered.

"Well I noticed that you had called Chad instead of me when you went off with him earlier. Can I ask why?" Ryan pleaded, almost to scared to ask.

"You're going to think it's kind of stupid, but I called him because I didn't want to bug you. I mean I just left you and I didn't want you to think I was going bipolar or something" she half joked

"I wouldn't have minded. I almost turned around to come and get you straight after I left." Ryan said.

"Why didn't you?" she asked

"Same reason, I thought you just wanted some space" Ryan smiled.

"Well, I'm sorry. Although, going with Chad had its advantages. The group therapy session went really well and I even had a chance to meet a wonderful girl," Kelsi smiled, remembering Jennifer

"Oh yeah? Would you tell me about her?" Ryan chimed in.

"Well she's a younger woman, I didn't ask how old she was, but she was old enough to be married with two children. She really welcomed me into the group" Kelsi smiled.

"Well she sounds like a great lady." Ryan sighed.

"Yeah, maybe we can invite her and her family up here so you two can meet" Kelsi said, letting another yawn go.

"We'll see" Ryan said softly, removing her glasses, and turning off the light. He took her into his arms and she lay across his chest with her hand on his stomach and his hands stroking her arm. "I love you" he whispered as they both fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Next morning**

They were sitting down in the dining room enjoying their breakfast, when Fulton came up to their table.

"Mr Evans" he smiled.

"Good morning Mr. Fulton" Ryan smiled.

"There is a phone call from your sister in my office," he whispered quietly. "I think you better answer before she throttles me through the phone" he finished walking off. Ryan took Kelsi's hand and headed towards Fulton's office.

"Sharpay?" Ryan asked.

"Where are you two?" she demanded.

"At Lava Springs, what's wrong?" Ryan asked.

"Kelsi's mom has been calling here non-stop looking for Kelsi, turns out she left her phone at home and she's really freaking out" Sharpay sighed.

"Well just tell her she's with me. I'll take care of her." Ryan laughed.

"Well its not just that she was supposed to have an appointment with a detective today who has also been calling non stop" Sharpay finished. Ryan held his hand over the receiver and looked at Kelsi.

"Were you supposed to see a detective today?" he asked, and Kelsi felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks. How could she have forgotten?

"Oh my god, yes," she stumbled out and ran out of the room. Ryan smiled and put the receiver back to his ear.

"I'll get her to that appointment, and tell her mom not to worry, Sharpay" he grinned and hung up before Sharpay could react. He ran up to his room hoping that's where Kelsi went and saw her getting ready to leave.

"I'm so sorry. I forgot she wanted to talk to me about what happened" Kelsi said as she searched frantically for her hat.

"Kelsi, slow down." Ryan said, finding her hat and tossing it towards her. "I'm sure she'll understand. Come on, I'll take you home so you can get dressed and we'll go there." Ryan said, taking her hand and leading her to the car.

* * *

**Kelsi's house**

Kelsi took a deep breath as she opened her front door, and the two of them walked inside. The first thing they noticed was the silence.

"Hello?" she called. Ryan looked at her and decided to look around to make sure everything was okay.

"I think they're gone" Ryan said as he came back towards her.

"Well why would my mom be calling non-stop and then leave?" Kelsi asked herself, she walked over to the phone and dialed her mom's number, after two rings she picked up.

"Kelsi where are you?" DeAnna asked frantically.

"I was with Ryan, where are you?" Kelsi shot back.

"I had to go take care of something. I'll be back in a half an hour. Someone named Detective Martin has been calling for you this morning said, something about an appointment."

"I know. Ryan is going to take me there in a bit. Is Dad with you?" she asked nervously, hoping not to have to run into him while she was in the house.

"Yes he is Kelsi, don't worry about it. I've got to go, but I'll see you after your appointment. Maybe we can all have lunch together." she smiled.

"Sounds great and I love you, mom" Kelsi finished, hanging up the phone. She looked over at Ryan who was fiddling with a couch cushion "Make yourself at home, I'll be ready in a bit" Kelsi said over her shoulder as she dashed upstairs.

Twenty minutes later Kelsi checked herself one last time in the mirror and dashed back downstairs to find Ryan watching TV.

"You ready?" He asked taking her in, she looked great even dressed in a pair of holey jeans and a pink tank top. Kelsi smiled, how did Ryan do it? Even when she was dressed in simple clothes he looked like he wanted to ravage her body. She gave him a wide smile and nodded her head.

* * *

**Albuquerque Police Station**

Kelsi and Ryan walked inside and looked around. If there was anywhere Kelsi didn't want to be, it was here. There were way too many seedy people around and Ryan squeezed her hand hard to let her know he wasn't going anywhere. Kelsi waited for the sergeant at the desk to finish with one of his officers who was complaining about another officer, and she timidly stepped up to him, clearing her throat.

"May I help you ma'am?" he asked distractedly.

"Yes, I'm here to see Detective Martin" she said quietly.

"Lucy!" the sergeant yelled behind him "Some girl here to see you. She'll be with you in a minute," he turned back to her and resumed his paperwork. "Just have a seat over there." He pointed towards the bench where an officer had just put a prostitute, well at least Kelsi thought she was a prostitute, she certainly wasn't dressed for school.

"Thanks." Kelsi said meekly and went to stand by the front door. Five minutes later the Detective came up to her.

"Kelsi, you finally showed up." the Detective said, coming up to them and shaking their hands.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I left my phone at home and I was out" Kelsi blushed.

"That's just fine. Now if you'll just follow me, I've got something for you to see." she finished heading to the back of the precinct

"Is it all right if my fiancée comes too?" Kelsi asked, pointing out Ryan.

"Sure" she answered and Ryan took Kelsi's arm and followed the detective to an interrogation room but they didn't go inside "Consider this an early wedding gift to you, Kelsi." the detective said as they approached a window that led to the interrogation room. Inside the room was him, the man that attacked her. He was being interviewed by another detective "We picked him up last night trying to assault an older lady."

Kelsi couldn't believe it, it was as if the whole world was on her side. She started to tear up and looked over at Ryan who looked torn. He looked pleased, and also as if he was barely restraining himself from rushing into the room and belting the man.

"Can you keep him here?" Ryan asked.

"Yes. We have enough evidence to put him away for a long time, it turns out this isn't his first strike. All we need is a written account of what happened to Kelsi, and hopefully we won't need to go any further." Kelsi looked the detective in the eyes and embraced her in a tight hug.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"No need to thank me, just follow me into my office and we'll get everything we need from you, and you can be on your way." the detective smiled, and led Kelsi and Ryan to her office to fill out some papers.

* * *

After a half an hour of talking to the detective, Kelsi and Ryan walked out of the precinct. Kelsi felt as though she was floating, as things were finally going right in her life. She turned towards Ryan and gave him a kiss that felt like she was on fire.

"What should we do to celebrate?" Ryan asked as they parted, both out of breath.

"Lets go have lunch, I'm starving" Kelsi joked as they walked towards Ryan's car. As Ryan started to open the door for her a small figure came running up towards them. It was a young girl, and she was giggling with her mom hot on her heels.

"Come back here Rachel" the woman yelled, sounding a little out of breath. It was Jennifer from Kelsi's group. Ryan bent down and scooped up the girl in his arms.

"Gotcha" he exclaimed, trying to get her to stop flailing.

"Thank you." Jennifer caught up with them. "Kelsi" she exclaimed, giving Kelsi a hug.

"I believe this belongs to you." Ryan said, handing Rachel to her.

"Thank you, she tends to get away from me when she feels like it. I thought I'd never catch her." Jennifer joked, as her husband rounded the corner with their other child in a stroller. "This is my husband Ben" Jennifer said, introducing Ryan and Kelsi. Ben came up to them and put his hand out with a smile. Ryan noticed how much bigger Ben was than him and gave him a smile and shook his hand.

"So this is Kelsi." Ben smiled at the petite girl. Kelsi looked a little intimidated by the man but put her best smile on and shook his hand.

"Hi," she blushed. Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"Nice way to be blunt, hon" she smiled "We were just going to lunch when this little one got away from us. What are you guys up to?"

"Same thing, do you mind if we join you?" Ryan asked.

"Sure, if you don't mind these two?" Jen said, indicating her children.

"Oh, we don't mind" Ryan smiled, taking Kelsi's hand and closing his car door. "Lead the way."

They rounded a corner and ended up at a nice little deli, where they all got their lunch and sat down.

Kelsi and Jennifer were in deep conversation. Jennifer's first comment was that Kelsi should call her Jen.

"So that's your hubby?" Jen smiled.

"No, he's just my fiancé" Kelsi blushed, taking a bite of one of her fries.

"Well he definitely seems like a keeper." Jen laughed seeing him playing patty cake with Rachel.

"Your daughter isn't shy, is she?" Kelsi laughed as Rachel put her arms around Ryan.

"Nah, been that way since she was born. She would go up to complete strangers and give them hugs for no reason, drives Ben insane but I think it's cute." Jen smiled and walked over to Rachel. Ryan joined Kelsi again with a huge smile on his face.

"Do I need to get jealous?" Kelsi joked.

"I don't know" Ryan laughed "She is definitely a cute kid though." he finished, taking a fry from her plate. They finished their lunch and said goodbye on the way out.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you." Ben said as he put Logan's stroller in their truck, and got in.

"You too Ben" Kelsi smiled "I guess I'll see you in two weeks then, Jen" Kelsi smiled as the other gave her a hug.

"Hey if not earlier, bye guys." she finished, as she hoisted herself into the truck.

"Well Ms. Neilson, where to now?" Ryan asked as they made their way back to his car.

"I don't know," Kelsi answered softly

"Well, how about this. I'll take you home and you can tell your parents the good news. Then you and I go out on a date." Ryan grinned.

"Sounds like a great idea" Kelsi said, turning to face him. "Hey, thank you." she said, putting her arms around him.

"For what?" he asked curiously.

"For coming back, for being here for me, and for everything." she blushed.

"Hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?"

"A really bad one" she smiled as she leaned in to kiss him passionately.

* * *

They arrived back at Kelsi's house and walked up to the front door hand in hand. When Kelsi's dad came out, Ryan smiled at him and all he got back was a glare.

"Where you going dad?" Kelsi asked.

"Out" he mumbled as he got in his car and drove off.

"Everything okay with him?" Ryan asked, feeling the coldness still in the air.

"He'll be all right. He's going to eventually have to be in the same room as you, it's okay" she smiled, taking his hand and walking inside. DeAnna was busy making dinner when they walked in "Hey mom" Kelsi called out as she entered the house.

"Hey Kelsi" she called back and saw Ryan "Hey Ryan joining us for dinner?" she asked.

"No, we just came back to get a few things, and then we're heading out" Kelsi said, sneaking a bite of the salad she was making. "We have good news though, mom." Kelsi piped up.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" DeAnna asked, setting down the knife she was using to cut up an onion.

"They caught that guy. He's in jail right now" Kelsi smiled.

"That's great honey," DeAnna wrapped her daughter in a hug.

"Yeah they might want me to come testify against him, but other than that they say it's a slam dunk case." Kelsi laughed.

"Well I'm glad. We'll have to go out and celebrate before Ryan leaves." DeAnna said, going back to cutting up her onion. "Well if you two are going out you better go now" DeAnna smiled.

"Thanks mom." She gave her a quick hug and went up to her room with Ryan in tow, she changed into a nice outfit a dress that her mom had bought her for graduation and fixed her hair while Ryan waited.

"Think you might need this," he said as he handed her a large bag.

"What for?" Kelsi asked.

"Well, I wanted to surprise you, but I want you to stay with me until I leave." Ryan smiled.

"Are you sure? I mean your parents, wouldn't they have something to say about it?"

"Don't worry about them" Ryan said scooping her into his arms. "Just worry about you" he smiled and kissed her on the nose. "Now come on" he finished, taking her hand and leading her out the door. He smiled at Kelsi's mom and mouthed for her not to worry as he took Kelsi out to his car.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

Living Without You

Part 13

Kelsi sat on the couch in the Evans mansion reading a book when all of a sudden she heard a very loud scream. "Ryan why is your underware in my bathroom!" Sharpay yelled, Kelsi rolled her eyes.

"Sorry sheesh, my shower is broken so I used yours get over it," Ryan yelled back. It has been this way for the past two days, now she remembered why she didnt like coming over that often. Whenever Sharpay and Ryan were around eachother all they did was argue. Ryan came downstairs blusing "I'm sorry you have to put up with this" he said as he leaned into kiss her. "Sometimes Sharpay can be......" Ryan tried to finish but was cut off by Sharpay

"I want to watch Entertainment Tonight" she delcared plopping herself down between Kelsi and Ryan

"But we were watching this" Ryan argued

"Sorry Ryan" she stuck her tounge out and flipped the channel. Kelsi just rolled her eyes again at Ryan and went back to reading her book, chuckling to herself as Ryan did a semi pout at his sister's actions.

It was no better at dinner when Sharpay insisted it be a double date and invited Zeke to go with them, the four of them sat at one of Kelsi's favorite Itallian restaraunts as her and Zeke watched Ryan and Sharpay argue over a salad

"Have they been like this all day?" Zeke whispered to Kelsi

"Yeah you should of seen the argument they had yesterday over Ryan's hat" Kelsi joked

"Well it cant last forever, besides Ryan is leaving Sunday" Zeke smiled as he turned back to his soup, and that was when it hit Kelsi like a ton of bricks. Ryan was leaving again to finish up boot camp and that would be it, what would Kelsi do? She'd have to go home and put up with her parents again and have to deal with the issue of her going to Julliard. Kelsi did a quick count in her head of how long she had before she was going to leave and realized that in less then three weeks she'd have to be in Julliard or she'd loose her scholorship. She sighed deeply and continued to poke at her salad, Ryan looked up at her and smiled and all Kelsi could do was feebly nod her head and give a half smile back. They finished thier dinner and were heading outside when Sharpay pulled her aside

"Whats wrong?" she asked

"Nothing, dont worry about me" she smiled

"You cant fool me Kelsi, I know you almost better than anyone else. You're worried about going back home arent you?"

Kelsi gave a weak nod "I guess I am. Sharpay what am I supposed to do, Ryan is leaving again soon and then I'll have to leave. I don't think your parents want me around forever." She finished

"That's nonsense Kelsi, we love having you around." Sharpay smiled taking the small girl by her hands "You make things interesting"

"Define interesting." Kelsi laughed

"Well for one you make Ryan happy, and second of all its nice to have someone that not only my brother loves but someone I love too. Of course in a total sister kind of way" Sharpay joked "Dont worry about it, if I have to hide you in my closet I'll make sure that you're not going to be alone." Sharpay gave her an almost bone crushing hug, and turned to follow Zeke and Ryan arm and arm

"Just do me a favor Sharpay," Kelsi turned to her and said before climbing into Ryan's car

"Name it" she smiled

"I'm not your and Ryan's mother, so please stop arguing around me expecting me to break it up" she laughed

"I'll try" Sharpay said giving Kelsi a hug and leaving them to join Zeke in his car

"What was that all about?" Ryan asked as she got in and he started the car

"Nothing just some girl talk," she smiled as she buckled in "Where we going now?"

"Well I figured we could go home curl up on the sofa and watch a movie" Ryan smiled

"That sounds great" she giggled, "It will be even better with Sharpay not there"

"Howdya pull that off?" He asked shocked

"Let's just say I have my ways" she smiled as they made thier way back to Ryan's house.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Evans House**

As they made thier way from the driveway up to the front door Ryan saw his dad's car, and it brought a smile to his face. He went inside and started looking for him

"Dad you here?" He called out

"In here son!" Vance answered from his office

"Hey dad!" Ryan said approaching him shaking his hand

"Looking good kid," Vance smirked seeing Kelsi behind him "Kelsi, how are you feeling?" he asked and Kelsi could of swore his voice almost sounded cold

"I'm fine Mr. Evans," Kelsi said shifting her weight feeling the tension build up in the room. "I'm going to go downstairs and leave you two alone." Kelsi said excusing herself and heading downstairs

"What was that all about?" Ryan asked himself and sat down across from his dad and started fiddling with his hat

"So you set to head back?" Vance asked taking the hat out of Ryan's hand and setting it on his desk

"Yes sir, got to finish what I start right?" He asked in a meek tone

"Thats right, an Evans always finishes what they start never forget that son." Vance smiled down at Ryan

"Dad can I ask you a favor?" Ryan quietly asked

"Sure son, what is it?" Vance answered

"Well Kelsi isn't really getting along with her parents, and I thought maybe she could stay here until she heads to Julliard" he said quickly

"I don't know son, whats going on with her parents?"The older man asked

"Well her dad doesnt want her to go to New York after what happened, and I dont think thats right. I mean she is 18 she shold be allowed to make her own decisions" Ryan argued feeling his face get flustered

"I dont know why you even bother with that girl Ryan all she seems like is trouble." Vance scoffed

"What do you mean trouble?" Ryan stood up

"Look son obviously something is up she gets herself pregnant by you right? And then you go and do the stupid thing by getting yourself engaged to her. Obviously all she wants is your money." He answered

"Hey that was an accident, besides it takes two to tango right?" Ryan stated trying to keep himself calm

"Yes it does son, but you need to cut her loose. You're too young to be getting into a serious relationship especially with a girl of her stature"

"Her stature?" Ryan yelled "You mean middle class, not rich like us?"

"Now I didnt say that Ryan, dont put words in my mouth" Vance felt himself get angrier

"You know what forget I even asked." Ryan seethed making his way towards the door, "I'm not going to wait till Sunday I'll be out tonight" and with that Ryan slammed the door of his father's office. Darby hearing them fight came barging in to her husbands office

"What's going on?" she asked worried

"Your son is being stubborn." Vance stated throwing himself back into his chair

"Is this about Kelsi?" She asked

"You mean that girl downstairs?" Vance spat back

"That girl downstairs was the mother of our grandchild, and you want to refer to her like she's a spec of dirt on your shoes?" Darby said angerly

"That girl is after our money and you know it!" he bellowed

"Kelsi is a lot of things, and neither of them is a gold digger. I cant believe you're acting this way" she cried

"Ryan is throwing his life away on that girl," he said a little more calmly "I want her out tonight and that is my final word"

"If you continue to act this way two days before our son leaves, he will never come back again." Darby said trying to get Vance to see reason

"Whatever, he'll be back besides what will he do without us?" he said going back to his work dismissing her. Darby exited the office and made her way into Ryan's room where he was feverishly packing his stuff up.

"You're leaving?" she asked as he stalked past her to grab some of his hats

"Yes, and you can tell Vance that I'm not coming back." He spat back stuffing things into his bags

"Ryan, you have to understand your dad he's only looking out for your well being." Darby said sitting herself on his bed

"Mom, he insulted Kelsi in front of me. She's my fiancee would you like it if his parents were bad mouthing you?" Ryan asked trying not to cry

"Ducky, you may never have noticed but your grandparents are not too fond of me." Darby winced

"You're kidding me, they love you" Ryan laughed

"Not all the time, at first they thought I was a gold digger and tried setting your dad up with some lady named Crystal Williamson, some debutante from Rhode Island but your dad wounldn't listen and instead he chose me." Darby smiled

"Well then why is he pulling the same stuff on me mom? I love Kelsi and I dont care what dad says we will be married, and if it takes me having to leave this house I'll do it." Ryan finished zipping up his bag

"But Ryan." Darby started but was cutt off

"No butts mom, Kelsi and I'll check into a hotel," Ryan said kissing her on the cheek and grabbed his and Kelsi's bags "I love you mom" he finished before heading downstairs to Kelsi.

"What's going on?" Kelsi asked seeing Ryan holding not only her bags but his

"We're leaving" Ryan replied bluntley. Kelsi stood up and walked over to Ryan wandering what was going on, and why he was so upset

"Ryan whats going on?" She asked again

"I just dont want to be here any longer." Ryan said taking her hand and walking outside. As they walked over to Ryan's car Sharpay and Zeke pulled up

"Where are you two going?" She asked coming up towards them smling seeing thier packed bags, oblivious to what had just happened inside the house

"Ask your brother." Kelsi replied, not knowing what to say to Sharpay cause not even she knew what was going on

"I have to get out of here Shar" Ryan sighed as he closed the trunk of the car "It seems father, thinks that I shouldnt be with Kelsi and that all she is is a gold digger" Ryan felt all the anger flow out of him and he felt as though he was going to be sick

"Dont be silly Ryan" Sharpay smiled "Daddy loves Kelsi"

"Oh wake up Sharpay" Ryan yelled "No he doesnt he just only pretends to, and I'm not going to stay in house with a man who doesn't like any of my friends especially my fiancee"

"Ryan!" Sharpay started to argue but was cut off

"I have nothig more to say on it" Ryan stated "I have to leave Sunday morning at 8 a.m. if you want to see me off, I love you Shar" Ryan finished giving his sister a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Sharpay stood there in shock as she and Zeke watched Ryan help Kelsi into his car, get in on the other side and drive off. Kelsi looked over at Ryan as he drove out of the driveway and was at a loss for words. Ryan drove for a while and then pulled over to the side of the road. "I'm sorry" Ryan finally spoke up after a long silence

"What exactly happened in there?" Kelsi asked worried for Ryan

"An argument that has been waiting to come out." Ryan answered tears stinging his eyes

"Ry.." Kelsi started but noticed his crying

"Kelsi, I want you to know that I have never thought of you in that way, I know that you love me for who I am not what I've got in my bank account." He said taking her hands

"Of course," she smiled wiping a tear away from his cheek "Look Ryan, I dont want to come between you and your dad. So why dont you just take me home and go talk to your dad about this"

"I cant do that Kelsi, my life is now your life, and if anyone insults you or does something to you I'm going to defend you in any way shape or form even if that means walking out on my family" Ryan sighed

"But Ryan you always said that famiy is everything, and I know inside that you really dont want to do this." Kelsi interjected

"Yes, family is everything, but you are also my family." He answered, "and I'm not going to leave Albequerque knowing that my family is in pain, and I know if that I let you stay at your parents house you will be in pain"

"Ryan.." she started but was cut off by his lips. As they broke apart Ryan mumbled something "What was that?" Kelsi asked

"Lets get married." He breathed trying to regain his composure

"Ryan," she laughed incrediously "I think the lack of oxygen has impacted your brain"

"I'm not kidding, lets get married tonight" he stated again

"But we dont have the stuff we need, our friends dont know, and come on Ryan I know you want your parents to be there as much as I want mine," she argued

"I dont care about all that," Ryan declared. "I want to get married, and I want it to happen before I leave"

"Ryan, what about New York?" she started to cry

"Come back to California with me, and then after I graduate from boot camp we can leave for New York." Ryan answered. Kelsi sat there staring into his beautiful blue eyes how could she say no? But there was that nagging doubt of being apart and the possibility of him only doing this to get back at his father. But in her mind she always wanted her family to be there when she got married having her father walk her down the aisle and her friends standing there for her while she married the man she loved.

"Ryan maybe we should sleep on it, you know not rush to anything that we'll regret" Kelsi tried to quiet the nagging in her head

"Kelsi, I know what I want and its you being my wife. But if you want to sleep on it I'll agree with you" Ryan sighed defeated. They drove to a small hotel and checked in, Ryan was outside getting the rest of the bags when Kelsi's cell phone started ringing, she noticed that the call was coming from the Evans household so she locked herself in the bathroom and answered the phone

"Hello?" she said in a hushed voice

"Kelsi, darling where are you?" Darby asked frantically

"We're at a Motel 6 we just checked in" Kelsi sighed

"Well I wanted to call you and check up on you, I'm sorry you have to go through this Kelsi," Darby sighed

"It's no worry Mrs. Evans, it's all apart of the drama that is my life. It's just that I dont want Ryan to do something that he'll regret I know if anything happened to you or Mr. Evans he'll never forgive himself for walking out" Kelsi let out a small laugh

"I'm glad that you care for our family Kelsi, but you're forgetting someone more important" Darby said

"Who?" Kelsi asked

"Yourself Kelsi, you've been through a lot in the last few weeks" Darby said trying to sound motherly to the girl she felt like she was her own daughter

"I know Ms Evans.." she said before being cutt off

"Please Kelsi call me Darby" she said

"Darby, Ryan is talking about getting married and I'm not sure he's making the right the decision in the emotional state he's in" Kelsi sighed

"Married?" Darby asked shocked "You didnt did you?"

"No" Kelsi laughed "I think I managed to talk some sense into him. Allthough I dont he's going to change his mind. I don't want to reject him but I dont want to dissapoint him either"

"What do you mean dissapoint Kelsi?" Darby asked

"Well what if I'm a horrible wife or I do something that makes him not want me anymore? I mean after all of this what if he gets tired of me?" Kelsi asked scared

"I know you'll be a great wife to Ryan, you're already a great girlfriend what more could a man like Ryan want?" she gushed

"Somebody who isnt a mess like myself" Kelsi sighed

"Kelsi, I know its taken a lot for you to get here, but I want you to know something I know what you're going through" Darby soothed

"What you were attacked?" Kelsi joked

"Actually yes I was. It happened a long time ago when I was pregnant with Ryan and Sharpay, it wasnt as severe as yours but it left a real deep emotional scar that still haunts me to this day. But with some help from a psychiatrist and help from my family every day gets a little bit better. It's going to take some time but you will get better Kelsi I promise you that" she finished. Kelsi was touched she didnt know this about her and was she was able to confide in her, she swiped the stray tear from her face and straightened herself up

"Thank you for sharing that with me" Kelsi said

"Your welcome Kelsi, I want you to know if there is any time that you need to talk to someone I'm always here. Even if you're to scared, I'm always here" she asnwered

"Well I have to get back to Ryan thank you again Darby" Kelsi sighed

"Allright Kelsi, listen if you do plan on getting married I want you both to know that I support you one hundered percent cause I know Ryan in his own little way is doing the right thing" Darby joked. Kelsi bid her goodbye splashed some cool water on her face and exited the bathroom to see Ryan sitting on the bed flipping through the channels

"Whatcha doing?" she asked putting her arms around him from behind

"Trying to find something on all I can find is a repeat of Grey's Anatomy" Ryan sighed

"Well I saw that episode anyway" Kelsi joked taking the remote from him and flipping off the television "I want to talk" Kelsi said as he turned to face her

"Sure what do you want to talk about?" Ryan asked

"Us" she answered

"Okay what about us?" Ryan asked

"I want to do it" she said as Ryan cocked an eyebrow at her

"Care to elaborate?" he asked confused

"Lets get married tomorrow, we can go down to the courthouse and we can call the others and they can be there and we can just get married" Kelsi started to ramble but Ryan put a finger to her lips

"Kelsi, darling, you're rambling" he laughed "All right lets do it" he said after a beat

"Yeah?" she asked getting excited

"Yeah, tomorrow morning lets get married" Ryan smiled pulling her into a hug "I cant wait another minute to be your husband"

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**Oooh nice little cliffhanger huh?**


	14. Chapter 14

Living Without You

**Part 14**

_Sorry it took me so long to write a new chapter it just seemed that a lot of things went wrong, but now I have a renewed spirit and I'm not going to let the bad things get me down._

_Reviews are appreciated and greatly received, your reviews are what keep me writing_

* * *

Ryan woke up the next morning to find Kelsi looking out the window staring at the sunrise, he stood up quietly and wrapped his arms around her kissing her neck softly

"Good morning," he breathed against her neck. Kelsi felt the familiar shiver run up her spine and leaned against him.

"Good morning," she smiled as she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck

"So I was thinking we could call the gang, have breakfast with them, and then let them know what we're doing" Ryan smiled. Kelsi took a deep breath and looked into Ryan's eyes "Everything okay?" he asked concerned that maybe Kelsi was having second thoughts

"I'm all right," she sighed "I just wish my parents could be here for this"

"Why don't you call your mom?" Ryan asked looking deep into her eyes

"What call my mom and tell her 'hey mom I was just wondering what you're doing today cause you're one and only daughter is getting married.' She'll flip her lid Ryan" Kelsi argued

"I'm sure she wont" Ryan laughed

"Oh, I'm sure she will" Kelsi laughed "It's not only her it's my dad. I've always wanted him to walk me down the aisle, and now he wont even talk to me I doubt he's going to give me away"

"Kelsi," Ryan said lifting her chin so that she was looking at him "Just call them, or I will" he joked. Kelsi gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek and sighed

"I just don't think I should" Kelsi said grabbing her bag and going into the bathroom. Ryan watched her walk off and shook his head, he would have to do something to make things right between Kelsi and her parents. He looked over at the small table in their room, and grabbed his phone dialing up the first number on his list Sharpay, he sat down and tapped his fingers on the table until after the fifth ring she finally picked up

"Someone better be dead" she moaned as she answered

"Hey sis" he said in a cheer full manner

"Ryan, where are you? Mom said you and Kelsi checked into a Motel 6 which I must say is very un-Evans like." Sharpay rambled fully awake

"We're fine," Ryan laughed. "I just wanted to ask you to breakfast later, ya know I thought the whole gang could get together before I leave again"

"Sounds great, what time?" Sharpay said as she stifled a yawn

"Ten should be good, At Eppies diner on Cleveland?" Ryan asked

"Sure, I'll see you then. Love ya" Sharpay smiled

"You too," Ryan finished as he hung up. After calling the rest of the gang Ryan glanced at his cell phone and at one particular number "She should be there," he argued to himself "It just wouldn't be right if she wasn't." He debated for a little while longer before finally hitting the green button.

"Good morning," the cheer full voice greeted him.

After taking a very hot shower, Kelsi stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed and in a pleasant mood as she saw Ryan sitting on the bed flipping through the yellow pages

"Feel better?" Ryan asked

"Much" she answered sitting down next to him "So you call the gang?" she asked

"Yep, we're meeting at Eppies at 10. I haven't told them why yet" he smiled finding what he was looking for "Here we go!" He exclaimed

"What?" She asked looking at the page and seeing he had it open to formal wear

"Well, I figured we could get some nice clothes to wear for today. What do you think?" he asked

"Yeah, it's just I cant afford any thing all my money has gone to getting New York Ryan" she sighed

"Hey that's what I'm here for, don't worry" he smiled kissing her on the cheek "I going to go take a shower then we'll head to meet the others" Ryan finished heading towards the bathroom.

* * *

Not too long afterward, Ryan and Kelsi were sitting on a bench outside the restaurant waiting for the others to show up.

"You think they'll be mad at us?" Kelsi asked holding onto Ryan's hand tightly

"I think they'd be more upset if we didn't invite them Kels" Ryan laughed. As if on cue the first car pulled up and it was Troy's poor truck. He jumped out of the drivers seat, and walked around to let Gabriella out

"Hey guys" Troy said walking towards them and giving Ryan a handshake, and Kelsi a hug "Where are the others? I'm starving." Next to pull up were Chad and Taylor followed by Zeke Martha and Jason all in Martha's car. They all greeted each other and Sharpay finally pulled up in her pink convertible, she gave Ryan and Kelsi long lingering hugs, and took Kelsi's arm and Ryan's hand as they walked inside and got a table for their big party.

"So you ready to head back?" Chad asked as he took a sip of his coffee

"Yes I am." Ryan smiled as he poured his tea into a cup

"Well it wont be too long before you're back right?" Martha asked

"Yeah, I got a letter the other day saying I was accepted into the armor infantry so I'll get some time off before I have to report to Kentucky" Ryan said. They all gave him a confusing look "It has a lot to do with tanks so I'll be working in one it's kind of cool as long as you're not claustrophobic" he laughed, and they all lightened up. As they all made their orders Ryan gave Kelsi a look as if to ask whether they should make their announcement or not and she nodded, so Ryan cleared his throat to get their attention "Guys we have an announcement to make" he said as they all turned to him

"Well the reason we called you guys out here is because we're getting married today." Kelsi rambeled almost dreading the words coming out of her mouth

"You're what?!?!?" Sharpay almost yelled, which made Kelsi jump. She knew at least she would reaact that way

"We're getting married." Ryan clarified stepping in for Kelsi

"That's great" Gabriella smiled "When are you guys doing it?" She asked

"Well hopefully after breakfast, we wanted to let you guys know cause we wanted you to be there." Ryan smiled

"Of course we'll be there." Taylor said giving Kelsi a sideways hug

"Good," Kelsi said "Cause I want you girls to stand up for me"

"You mean like be your bridesmaids?" Sharpay asked

"Well..yes I wouldn't have it any other way," Kelsi smiled. The boys all watched as the girls squealed, and started going over their plans. They all glanced back at Ryan, who watched Kelsi with an amused smiled

"So what about you Evans?" Troy asked getting Ryan's attention. "Your last hours as a free man how you feeling?"

"I feel great!" Ryan smiled and took another sip off of his tea

* * *

**An hour later**

"Spend whatever you want to, the guys and I are going down the street" Ryan said handing Kelsi his credit card outside of the dress shop

"Are you sure?" Kelsi asked looking down at the plastic in her hands. "I mean I don't want to do something that could end badly later"

"Don't worry it's my money, and I can spend it on whomever I want to" Ryan said giving her a kiss on top of her forehead. "Besides if Sharpay has anything to say you'll have the most expensive dress in there" he joked

"Okay" Kelsi said almost reluctantly "I'll see you in a bit." She kissed him chastely, and headed inside with the girls who had already picked out three dresses each thrusted them in Kelsi's arms. She smiled as the girls pushed her into a dressing room. After trying about a million dresses on Kelsi finally picked one out, and was helping the others pick out dresses, Sharpay had just come out of the dressing room wearing a long pink gown when someone tapped Kelsi on the shoulder and she turned around to see her standing there

"Hello honey" DeAnna said embracing her daughter in a hug

"Mom?" Kelsi stuttered out "What are you doing here?"

"Well I received a call from Ryan this morning, and he had something interesting to tell me." She smiled placing a strand of hair behind Kelsi's ear lovingly

"Mom....I know we're young but I love Ryan, and I want to do this" Kelsi mumbled hanging her head and staring at her shoes

"I know you do honey, and that's why I'm here." DeAnna said putting her finger to Kelsi's chin lifting her head to look at her

"I take it dad isn't coming?" Kelsi asked looking behind her mom to see if her dad was hiding

"I'm sorry honey, I tried to get him to come but he wouldn't listen." She answered

"I figured he wouldn't," Kelsi said fighting back tears. "It's only the most important day of my life."

DeAnna saw the hurt in her daughter's eyes, and took her to an out of the way spot in the shop and let her cry

"Why does he do this mom?" Kelsi asked as she dabbed her eyes

"He loves you honey, it's just hard for him to realize that he is losing his daughter. He loves Ryan he thinks that he's the best thing to ever happen to you, but ever since you were attacked it made him realize that you're not his little girl anymore and he's having a hard time dealing with that" Deanna answered rubbing her daughter's shoulder as she cried

"Of course I'm not a little girl anymore," Kelsi stood up anger washing over her. "I'm a grown woman who is going off to college I'm allowed to make my own decisions and do whatever makes me happy"

"I think that's what scares him the most Kelsi" DeAnna answered

"Well that's his problem, today is about me and I'm not going to let him get me down." Kelsi composed herself as best as she could, and looked her mom dead in the eyes. DeAnna smiled at her daughter's confidence, and stood up to take her hands

"I think that would be all he wants, even though he's not fully aware of it right now." She hugged her daughter tightly, and saw the girls hiding behind a rack of clothes. "It's okay girls"

The girls came up and embraced Kelsi in a group hug

"Come on girl," Taylor said letting go first. "We have a wedding to get ready for"

And with that the girls finally paid for their things, and were out the door. They were all gabbing about what to do with Kelsi's hair and make-up, when the guys approached them

"All done?" Ryan asked going up to Kelsi and giving her a peck on the cheek, he glanced up and DeAnna and gave her a knowing smile.

"Just about" Kelsi answered, as she put her hand in his and continued over to his car. "The girls want to take me to some salon and get my hair done, I think they're just stalling things" she laughed

"Well that's fine with me," Ryan said pulling her into his arms "I want to make sure you get pampered like the princess you are." As they parted ways again Kelsi was left with just Sharpay and her mother in the back of a salon getting her nails done, as the others were distracted by getting their own nails done

"Have you written any vows?" Sharpay asked as she picked out a pink polish for her toes

"Vows?!?!?" Kelsi asked her eyes as wide as saucers. "I didn't even think about that"

"I'm sure Ryan hasn't even thought of any" Sharpay said trying to reassure her small friend

"Yeah honey" DeAnna said putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Kelsi eased into that thought but it still plagued the back of her head, she wanted this day to be as romantic as possible but every time she thought of something to say it turned out cheesy, finally an idea struck her and she reached into her purse for a pen and paper to begin writing down vows

* * *

**East High School**

The boys drove up in separate cars and all got out looking at Ryan

"What are we doing here?" Zeke asked checking out his old high school

"I figured we could hang out here for a while, you know a lot of us wont be here that much longer, and I was just being sentimental" Ryan blushed

"Perfect! I think my dad is still here anyway, maybe he could let us into the gym and we can play some basket ball." Troy said heading towards the gym

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up" Ryan said hanging behind. The gym wasn't his ideal place to hang out, there was one place in particular he wanted to go. He made his way through the campus noting pictures on the wall from various shows he and Sharpay had participated in. He finally stood in front of an all to familiar door with the ever present mannequin dressed up in a silly costume. Knowing she would be there he opened the door up and saw the familiar face sitting on her throne sipping tea

"Mr. Evans" Ms. Darbus said almost choking on her tea "What are you doing here? And what have you done with your hair?"

"I joined the army" Ryan said taking a seat

"Now why did you go and do that? I was under the impression that Julliard was where you wanted to be" Ms. Darbus said giving a sad smile

"Well you know my father Ms. D. He wasn't proud of me, and I wanted to do something to prove myself" Ryan shot back

"Yes I do know your father Mr. Evans, and I know that no matter what you do he's proud of you." She soothed

"Well, I'm not even sure he would agree with you" Ryan sighed "He never approved of what I do, or who I see"

"Ryan" Ms. Darbus said adopting a serious tone "I can tell you one thing that is for certain, fathers love their sons as much as sons love their fathers. Whatever your dad is going through right now I'm sure it's nothing personal. Don't let anything anyone says to you get to you. You're a talented young man, probably the most talented person I've known in my life." Ryan smiled at the older lady and in her own little way Ms. Darbus had always known how to instill hope and courage in him.

"Thank you Ms. Darbus," Ryan said smiling at his former teacher

"You know I think now that we're both adults its okay to call me Alyson" she smiled

"Thanks Alyson," Ryan blushed. It was weird to call the teacher that inspired him deeply to call her by her first name. "Alyson can I ask you a question?"

"Sure what is it?" The older lady asked as she felt herself brighten up

"What are you doing later?" Ryan asked. A while after Ryan hugged his teacher goodbye and went off in search of the others, remembering them saying something about the gym he headed in there to find them in a heated game of two on two. He laughed as Troy blocked a jump shot from Chad and caught the ball as it came bouncing towards him "Having fun?" he asked throwing the ball back to Troy

"Yeah come and join," Troy said throwing the ball back at him

"Nah, I think I'll just sit this one out." Ryan said throwing the ball to Troy and sitting down on the bench

"Come on now Evans" Jack Bolton said as he entered the gym in his gym clothes "You're getting married the least you can do is play a quick pick up game before you go and do something silly." Ryan knew that they were goading him into playing, and it worked "Come on I got an extra gym suit in my office" Jack said hoping to convince him

"All right" Ryan said as he went in the back to get changed. He came out ready to play. It was a good game, it was Coach Bolton, Chad and himself versus Troy, Zeke, and Jason and it was all tied up until Ryan had stolen the ball from Jason, and made the last point

"Not bad Evans" Jack smiled patting the young man on the back. "I could of used you this past year, why didn't you try out?" he asked as he grabbed several waters out of his office and handed them to the boys

"Oh well you know," Ryan said blushing "The drama department took up a lot of my time"

"Well, you're a heck of a player, and I know that you'll be a heck of a husband to Kelsi. Just don't forget to treat her with dignity and respect, and never let the little things get in the way of true happiness" Jack said putting a hand on his shoulder

"Thank you Coach Bolton" Ryan smiled. He looked down at his watch and noticed it was almost 3 o' clock. He went and got his cell phone out of his street clothes and dialed up Kelsi's number, after the third ring a voice he didn't expect answered instead of Kelsi "Sharpay?" He asked dumbfounded

"Yeah it's me little brother, Kelsi is getting a facial right now she cant really talk" Sharpay answered

"Well we're going to get a quick shower here, and then we should be heading over to the courthouse. How much longer you going to be there?" Ryan asked

"Kelsi is just getting the finishing touches done on her hair, and we'll be heading there as soon as she's through." Sharpay answered seeing that Kelsi was getting the mask taken off of her face

"Okay I'll see you there then" Ryan said hanging up the phone, he was pretty sure that it wasn't Kelsi's but Sharpay's idea to get a facial, he laughed at the thought and ran to get into the shower.

* * *

**Courthouse steps**

Ryan began to pace back and forth on the top of the steps, he had already went inside to start to fill out the paperwork, and make sure a judge was there to perform the ceremony but the only thing missing was Kelsi

"I'm sure she'll be here soon" Troy said trying to calm Ryan down

"Yeah, you know girls they always want to make an entrance" Jason joked adjusting his tie yet again

"Kelsi doesn't make entrances, Sharpay makes entrances but not Kelsi" Ryan said running a hand through his stubble yet again, and looking down at his watch. Ten minutes later Kelsi finally pulled up in Sharpay's convertible looking beautiful "Wow!" Ryan said taking in her beauty, all Kelsi could do was blush

"Stop that" she grinned

"I would love to, but you look absolutely stunning" Ryan said taking another long look at her. Kelsi blushed again, and saw all the girls standing around talking to their respective boyfriends

"You guys clean up well." Kelsi joked as each of the guys gave her a kiss on the cheek "So shall we get this show on the road?" Kelsi asked and they headed inside the courthouse. Kelsi finished filling out her end of the paperwork, and they were all sitting around waiting for the judge to come back from a court case that he was involved in.

"So what did you guys go do while you were away?" Kelsi asked as she gently caressed Ryan's hand with her thumb

"The guys convinced me to play basketball" Ryan laughed

"Really?" Kelsi asked stunned

"Why did you say it like that?" Ryan got a little bit offended

"Well I know you're athletic but those guys can be brutal especially when it comes to basketball" Kelsi smiled

"Well you'll be happy to know," Ryan said his chest swelling and a twinkle in his eyes. "My team won"

"Well I'm proud of you." Kelsi smiled, and gave Ryan a peck on the cheek. They all sat there chatting for a good 30 minutes when the judge finally came out of the courtroom, and smiled at the couple

"So you two must be Ryan and Kelsi?" The man smiled as he shook their hands

"Yes sir, we've come to ask you to marry us" Ryan stood up with Kelsi, and smiled squeezing her hand

"Okay, that can be done if you'll just follow me into my office." The judge smiled, and made his way towards the back of the courthouse where his office was

"So you ready?" Sharpay asked as she caught up with the couple

"Hey, I was born ready" Ryan laughed and followed the judge

"All right," the judge started as he looked over the paperwork "It seems you have everything all filled out and in proper order, and you have witnesses" he laughed seeing the Wildcats and Kelsi's mom pour into the room "Do either of you want anything special? Like special wedding vows?" The judge asked and Kelsi went into her purse to pull out the page she had written

"Well I wrote one small thing down if that's okay with you Ryan?" Kelsi asked

"That's great, cause I have something written down too." Ryan laughed as he reached into his jacket pocket pulling out a piece of paper

"Okay that's great." The Judge said as he got up from his desk, and came around to where Kelsi and Ryan were sitting. "Now if you two would kindly stand up, and Mr. Evans if you would take Ms. Neilson's hand we can begin." Ryan took Kelsi's hands as he looked deep into her eyes

"I love you." he whispered

"Dearly beloved we are here to unite Kelsi Neilson, and Ryan Evans in holy matrimony. Marriage is a sacred vow that shall never be broken and I can see by the looks in your eyes that you will have a long, and happy life together. Now Ms. Neilson if you would like to read the vows you wrote to Ryan" The judge finished

"Ryan, in the years we've known each other we've sure been through a lot. A lot of ups, and downs, a lot of good times, and some bad times. But through it all you've been the one thing that has remained constant in my life. There was one time in my life when I felt that you were too good to be true, and that I didn't deserve someone as sweet and loving as you are, but here we stand today in front of our friends and family and I want to tell you that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know that I will never spend another day alone, or unhappy with you by my side. I love you Ryan Evans, and I vow to spend the rest of my life loving you no matter what. I give myself to you mind body and soul." Kelsi finished wiping a few tears away, and folded up the paper she read off of. She took a quick glance around the room and noticed that all the girls had started crying

"Now Mr. Evans, if you would kindly do the same." The judge smiled at Ryan

"Kelsi, after that I was going to say what I wrote, but I think I'll just wing it" Ryan smiled. "You deserve every happiness life brings you, and I vow that I will spend the rest of my life making you happy. I love everything about you, and it is you that is the best thing to ever happen to me." Ryan took a deep breath and went back into his thoughts "Kelsi, ever since Sharpay and I were little we were always told that one day the woman, or man who would be the one that we would marry would be the person we least expect. Well ever since the first day we met I knew that you would be that girl, I love you more and more every day, and like I've said before I want to spend each and every one of life's joys with you, just like the song says I just want to be with you and only you for the rest of my life Kelsi."

"Wow" the judge laughed. "Well on that note, are there rings?" He asked looking at the two of them

"Well," Ryan blushed "there is this one." He pulled out a band that matched the one he already gave Kelsi, and slipped it on her finger

"Well then by the power invested in me, and by the state of New Mexico. I now pronounce you husband and wife, now kiss her Ryan" the judge smiled as Ryan picked Kelsi up off the ground and gave her a deep kiss as the others cheered them on. The judge shook both of their hands "Now go out and enjoy the rest of the day" he said ushering them out of his office. As they walked out they all noticed Ms. Darbus standing there with a bouquet of roses in her hands

"Ms. Darbus!" Kelsi exclaimed

"Congratulations Ms. Neilson, or should I say Mrs. Evans." The older lady said embracing Kelsi in her arms, and handing her the bouquet of roses

"What are you doing here?" Kelsi asked as she stepped out of the older woman's embrace

"Well two of my favorite students are getting married, I wouldn't miss it for the world" Ms. Darbus smiled

"Thank you for being here." Ryan smiled hugging his former teacher

"Well I would of been on time but I had to take care of something, a little present from me to you." Ms Darbus smiled "Your reception, I have arranged for a small party at my place food, drink anything you guys want"

"You shouldn't have." Kelsi said on the verge of shock

"Well like I said you're my two favorite students, besides I have a caterer on speed dial for just such occasion" Alyson finished and they all made their way out to their respective cars following her out to her house. Kelsi felt like she was on cloud nine the whole ride over there, any insecurities she had felt the past week were all gone and all she could do was look over at Ryan, and repeat to herself that she was married to the man of her dreams.

It wasn't a long ride, and thy were all pulling up in Ms. Darbus' driveway before they knew it. She had not disappointed there was the sound of music coming from her house, and it had seemed that she had pulled out all the stops. They all made their way inside and were greeted by the site of food and drink (non alcoholic of course) and they all sat down to a meal.

After an hour of enjoying the company, Ryan and Kelsi made their way out Ryan's car and he pulled her close and gave her a mind blowing deep kiss.

"Wow" Kelsi said coming out of her stupor

"Your welcome Mrs. Evans" Ryan smiled

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that" Kelsi blushed bringing Ryan back to her lips.

* * *

_A/N: Okay if ya'll thought that was cheesey its fine cause so did I in a way. I already have an idea of where the next chapter is going so it shouldn't be too long till I update again. I can tell you one thing I'll be skipping ahead a few months and something will happen in the Evans family that will have a big effect on Ryan._


	15. Chapter 15

Living Without You

**Part 15**

_Okay as promised I'm getting this one out earlier then expected. Enjoy, and please review :)_

_Oh and this chapter is set six months after their wedding, they are living in New York in a small apartment. Ryan is currently deployed in Afghanistan and Kelsi is at Julliard studying musical composition_

* * *

Kelsi was just coming back from a long day of classes, and was eager to know if Ryan had sent her any mail. She wasn't very happy that her husband of six months was away at war, but she was proud of the fact that he was brave enough to serve their country. She had just unlocked the door, and was heading inside when her phone rang.

"Now who could that be?" She asked nobody in particular. She crossed the threshold of their apartment, and answered the phone "Hello?" She answered, she could hear someone breathing on the other line and it seemed as if the person was crying. "Hello?" she asked again a little frightened

"Kelsi.." The voice answered it was Sharpay, and she seemed really upset

"Whats wrong Sharpay?" Kelsi asked fear coursing it's way through her body. Was something wrong with Ryan? Was he dead? and they only called Sharpay, his mother and not her? What was wrong? And why wasn't Sharpay answering her?

"Kelsi....." Sharpay paused trying to hold back the sobs "It's daddy." The comment hit Kelsi like a ton of bricks as she slumped down in the nearest chair with a hand held to her forehead in disbelief

"Sharpay," she answered as calmly as she could. "What happened?" Sharpay took a deep breath and composed herself as best as she could.

"Well daddy was coming back from one of his usual business flights out to California and I guess the plane lost control and....Oh Kelsi" Sharpay lost herself in her sobs again. Sharpay didn't have to finish, Kelsi knew exactly what she was trying to say.

"Sharpay, I'm really sorry" Kelsi attempted to soothe Sharpay but it was no use she was even starting to cry

"Thank you Kelsi" Sharpay sniffed "I just don't know what to do. I mean mom is a complete mess right now, and she will not even come out of her room"

"What you can do right now is be there for your mom" Kelsi said trying to think rationally "I'll figure out how to get a hold of Ryan and I'll be on the first available flight back to Albuquerque"

"Okay Kelsi" she answered as she felt a small wave of comfort wash over her "I think I heard something about contacting the Red Cross to be able to get a hold of Ryan while he's out there, that might be a good place to start."

"All right, I'll do that call me if you need me and if not I'll call you before I leave from the airport" Kelsi said as she hung up the phone.

Kelsi felt numb, why would this happen to the Evans family? She knew Ryan would have a hard time dealing with such a terrible loss, especially the way things ended with Ryan and his dad before Ryan and her had gotten married. Every time Kelsi had tried to bring up Vance Evans all Ryan would do is change the subject, there seemed to be no way Ryan would consider re-establishing his relationship with his dad and the thought of him having to attend the funeral of his own father seemed to unbearable.

After spending a good hour on the phone with the Red Cross, Kelsi was assured that Ryan would be notified within the next few hours and she would receive a call from them as soon as Ryan was on his way back to Albuquerque. Satisfied with that she made her next call to the airport and booked a flight home.

* * *

**Kabul Afghanistan**

Ryan was just returning to his barracks when his chief called him over, the older man was standing with two gentleman. One seemed to be the platoon chaplain and the other Ryan had never seen before. What was going on now? It was a hard enough day with what had just happened out in the field, he had lost two of his buddies to an attack from insurgents, he had a large bandage on his arm to prove it.

"Yes sir!" Ryan yelled out as he saluted his chief and stood at attention

"Ease up there Evans" the chief said as he put an arm around Ryan's shoulders "These two men want to talk to you" he said pointing out the gentleman he arrived with

"Whats going on Chief?" Ryan asked scared about what was coming

"Private Evans" The chaplain said taking Ryan aside from the others "I'm pastor Williamson, and this is Brandon Katz from the Red Cross" the man said introducing themselves "About 3 hours ago we got a call from your wife with some bad news." the pastor took a long deep breath as he softened his eyes and looked directly into Ryan's "Your father passed away a day ago"

"He....what?" Ryan breathed out he felt his knees go weak and he felt sick to his stomach

"There was some sort of plane crash and your father didn't survive" Pastor Williamson continued "I'm sorry son" he finished giving Ryan a comforting hug

"Thank you" Ryan said letting go of the man "I need to get home now, and be with my family"

"That's what I'm here for" the man from the Red Cross spoke up. "We have a hummer, and a plane ready to take you back home right away."

"Are you sure, I mean" Ryan stuttered out. "I can't leave now. Can I?"

"In situations like this a solider is allowed some time off to be with his family and spend as much time needed to take care of business" his Captain informed him "You have time to say good bye to the others, pack your gear and leave when you are ready."

"Thank you Captain" Ryan said saluting him again, and running to pack up his stuff. He couldn't believe this, this was just typical of Vance Evans he would have to find some way to overshadow his happiness. Ryan was just starting to get used to his new life as a husband and a solider and now he was going home to bury the man who basically shut him out of his life, and for what so he could feel like a big man and tell him that Kelsi was no good for him. Ryan felt his anger build up inside of him to the point of no return, he knew even though he would be spending time with the woman he loved this was the last reason he wanted to be returning to home.

He was just getting ready to board the cargo plane when it struck him he should get a hold of Kelsi when the plane landed in Germany before he headed back to the states.

* * *

Kelsi had just gotten off the phone with her mother, it wasn't a long conversation but Kelsi did inform that she was coming home for the funeral. It has been tough not being around her mom, but Kelsi had gotten used to the feeling, and it was weird coming back home under the circumstances. She looked at the clock on her phone again Ten o'clock at night and she was stuck at JFK waiting for her plane to start boarding. She was wondering what Ryan was going through at this moment, she knew he would be angry and most of all upset it was his father for better or worse, but the gnawing sensation that kept eating at her was the fact that Ryan was coming home in these conditions. How would he handle it would he want her to be there with him while he went through the pain of losing his father. She was snapped out of her thoughts when her phone rang

"Hello" she asked in almost a hurried tone

"Kelsi!" Ryan exclaimed, he had never felt better to hear his wife's voice

"Ryan where are you?" She asked noting the screen on her phone had said restricted

"Germany" Ryan laughed "Look honey I can't talk long, my plane is going to take off soon and I'll be in Albuquerque tomorrow morning"

"Ryan, I'm so sorry about Vance" Kelsi said trying to send her sympathy out to him

"I know honey, look I have to go my plane is boarding. I love you so much and I can't wait to see you" Ryan said

"I love you too, have a safe flight" Kelsi said before hanging up her phone. She sat there for another twenty minutes when the announcement came that it was time to board the plane

* * *

Touching down in Albuquerque she looked around to see if there was anyone there to greet her, and sure enough pushing her way through the throng of people was Sharpay. Even if she was hurt she always let people know who she was, Kelsi dashed up to her and embraced her in a hug

"I'm so glad you're here" Sharpay said as the parted

"Me too, you talk to Ryan yet?" Kelsi asked as they made their way to the luggage claim

"Yes I did, he said he'll be arriving tomorrow morning" Sharpay answered as they spotted Kelsi's bag and made their way out of the airport.

"Sharpay" Kelsi started

"Kelsi, I don't think there is anything to say daddy is gone and there is nothing we can do about it" Sharpay brushed her off

"It's just that, before Ryan and I Left there was a lot of tension in that house concerning me and I don't want it to return so maybe I should just stay at a hotel" Kelsi sighed looking down at her feet. Sharpay laughed almost diabolically

"You're joking right?" Sharpay asked regaining her composure "You are Ryan's wife and no matter what happened with Ryan and daddy it's in the past, you're an Evans now and you shall get treated as such. I don't want to hear any more about it.

They pulled up to the Evans house, and were just getting their things out of Sharpay's car when her phone rang "Hello?" she asked answering

"Hey Sharpay" Zeke answered

"Hey Zeke" Sharpay smiled, Zeke was in Maryland taking culinary classes there and even though they weren't close they kept their relationship strong

"Look honey, I'm flying out tomorrow is there anything you need before I head home?" Zeke asked making sure his princess was well taken care of

"Just you Zeke," Sharpay sighed, "and maybe some of your cookies"

"You got it babe, I'll see you tomorrow" Zeke answered hanging up the phone

Sharpay and Kelsi made their way inside the house and were immediately greeted by Derby who had a glass of wine in her hand, and by the smell of her it wasn't her first.

"Hello Kelsi" she stumbled out "We're so glad you're here" she drunkenly embraced the younger girl almost falling over

"Thank you Mrs. Evans" Kelsi stuttered trying to get herself out of Darby's embrace

"Kelsi, Kelsi, Kelsi. You can call me Darby, we are all family anyway" she said flailing her arm out spilling out some wine "Sharpay!" she yelled "Where were you?"

"I told you I was going to pick Kelsi up from the airport, remember?" Sharpay answered embarrassed by her mother's actions

"Right, well you can stay in Ryan's old room Kelsi" Darby hiccuped "Besides I'm sure you'll want to spend all the time you can together you know getting to making me some grand kids"

"Okay now mom why don't you go lay down now" Sharpay said trying to shoo her up to her bed

"I don't need you telling me what to do Sharpay, I'm a grown woman dammit." Darby spat out

"Come on mom" Sharpay said tears starting to brim her eyes

"Shut up you little brat I don't need you to mother me that's my dammed job." she finished as she stumbled upstairs in a drunken haze

"I'm sorry Kelsi" Sharpay said coming back downstairs to where Kelsi was standing "She had polished off a whole bottle of Merlot this morning before I got up and it looks like she hasn't stopped" she finished as she went to clean up the mess Darby had left in the kitchen. Kelsi took a long look at Sharpay, there was a lot of mixed emotions in her eyes. Pain, regret, fear, Kelsi had never seen this side of Sharpay before and quite frankly it scared her

"Sharpay, you don't have to apologize. I may not know what you and your family are going through right now, but I do know that it's not going to push me away" Kelsi finished as she gave her sister in a law a comforting hug

"Thanks Kelsi" Sharpay sniffed "I am glad you're here" she finished letting her go

"Me too, now come on let's go sit down and talk, we can leave this mess for later" Kelsi said taking Sharpay's hand and leading her into the living room. Sharpay followed her dumbfounded, was this the same petite composer she used to pick on in High School? This was a totally different Kelsi than what she had been used to, she figured that being married to Ryan had changed her whole outlook on life. Kelsi seemed more brighter and more uplifted like she had not a care in the world. They stayed up talking about Julliard, New York, Sharpay's life assisting Ms. Darbus back at East High. Apparently Ms. Darbus is thinking of retiring next year and asked Sharpay to take over after she was gone

"Are you thinking of taking it?" Kelsi asked excited for Sharpay

"I don't know, I mean sheesh do you think they'll let me teach I haven't even graduated college yet. I'm pretty sure you need a college degree to teach" Sharpay sighed looking down at her cup of tea

"Well, it doesn't mean that you can't try to apply. At least do that you never know" Kelsi smiled. She glanced over at the clock and noticed it was getting pretty late

"I wonder where Ryan's at right now?" Sharpay asked

"He said he'd call me when he got closer to Albuquerque we should probably get some sleep" Kelsi said hugging Sharpay

"Nite Kels" Sharpay said as Kelsi headed upstairs to Ryan's room

* * *

It was five o clock in the morning and Kelsi was standing in the airport lobby waiting for Ryan. Normally it would take heaven and earth to get Sharpay out of bed this early in the morning, but since it was Ryan she gladly came with Kelsi to greet her returning brother even if it was for a brief time. Kelsi paced up and down the lobby Ryan had briefly called her from the plane telephone and told her that he was close, but it still seemed like he was far away. Finally after 20 minutes of pacing she saw him come closer, she couldn't stop herself she ran straight up to him and wrapped her arms around him giving him a kiss that seemed to speak volumes on how much she missed him.

"Hey babe" Ryan said as the broke apart. "Miss me?" he joked

"I'll take that as a bad joke" Kelsi said grabbing his hand and walking towards Sharpay who gave her brother a bone crushing hug

"I'm so happy you're here" Sharpay said letting him go, as he let her go Kelsi noticed the bandage on his arm

"What happened?" Kelsi asked holding his arm closer for her to inspect

"It's okay just a accident, come on I'm really hungry, let's go have something to eat" Ryan said changing the subject and heading to the baggage claim to find his duffel. As Ryan got his bag he saw Sharpay making her way towards where the passengers were coming out and saw her greet Zeke and a smile came upon his lips, it was great that they had kept their relationship strong even if they were miles apart. Zeke came up to Ryan giving him a handshake

"Hey Ryan welcome back" Zeke said as he let go

"You too, how's Maryland" Ryan asked

"It's great, I learn more about cooking every day" Zeke smiled "Oh, princess these are for you" Zeke said taking a plate of cookies out of his carry on and handing them to Sharpay who gladly took them. They made their way out of the airport and over to Sharpay's car with Ryan and Kelsi in the back and Sharpay and Zeke in the front

"I'm so happy to see you" Kelsi said taking Ryan's hand in hers "I've missed you so much"

"Me too," Ryan said looking deep into her eyes "It's hard to be away from you especially in another country"

"Well you two have three weeks together" Sharpay said grinning at them from the front seat "So make the most of it." They stopped at a small bistro and had lunch, all talking different things and Sharpay had brought up Ms. Darbus and her retiring they all seemed to say the same thing Kelsi had said. They made their way back home and were immediately greeted with Darby sitting on the front porch with a glass of wine in her hand

"Where have you been?" She asked Sharpay

"I went to pick up Ryan" Sharpay said pointing Ryan out

"Ducky! You're home" Darby said almost falling over to hug her son

"Hi mom" Ryan stuttered out looking over at Sharpay who was apologizing with her eyes over their mother's behavior "Why don't we go inside come on" Ryan said helping her into the house

* * *

A few days later Ryan, Kelsi, Sharpay, Zeke and Darby were all inside a limo heading over to the funeral home. It was a beautiful day considering what was happening and Ryan just stared out at the window watching the scenery go by

"What you thinking about?" Kelsi asked, squeezing Ryan's hand

"Just remembering how much I miss this place" Ryan said almost in a dream state

"Well we sure have missed you" Sharpay answered smiling at her brother. They arrived at the funeral home and were immediately greeted by the chaplain.

"Good morning Evans family" he said greeting them as they exited the limo "Now everything is set up inside, if you want you can spend some time with your father before we begin"

"That sounds fine" Ryan said and looked over at Kelsi

"Don't worry about me Zeke, and I'll just go find a seat" Kelsi said giving her husband a kiss, taking Zeke's hand and heading inside. Inside was gorgeous there was flowers every where and it seemed like they had spared no expense for Vance there was a large picture that they had taken from Lava Springs with him holding a golf club up at the front of the funeral home.

"Wow" Zeke whistled looking around. Kelsi laughed a small laugh being married to Ryan she still wasn't used to all the pomp and circumstance that came with the Evans family in whatever they did. They found there seats and sat there looking around, it wasn't too long before people started showing up. It seemed everyone in Albuquerque had turned up even the mayor. A few minutes later Ryan, Sharpay, and Derby joined them, Ryan sat down next to Kelsi and immediately took her hand. The men that worked in the funeral home brought in the casket a few minutes later and placed it at the front of the room.

"Thank you for being here" Ryan whispered as the chaplain took the podium to begin the services.

* * *

After a long funeral befitting an Evans and the graveside burial they all made their way back to the Evans mansion, everyone was downstairs talking, drinking and laughing it up but it was obvious to Kelsi that Ryan didn't want to be involved so she took his hand and took him outside away from everyone

"Thanks" Ryan half laughed as they made their way to an out of the way spot under a tree

"You looked un-happy in there" Kelsi smiled letting go of his hand

"Well they're all friends of my dad I don't really know anyone in there, that and his lawyer keeps wanting to talk to me about something" Ryan said looking back at the house. He pulled her close to him and stroked the side of her cheek "I love you" he whispered

"I love you too" Kelsi blushed "I'm so glad that you're here"

"Well if I had my way we'd be back in New York far away from here" Ryan smiled

"Well who's to say we can't leave tomorrow, I mean there isn't anything holding you back from just leaving here and spending the rest of our time in our home" Kelsi rambled

"You know what? You're right I'll get us tickets home for tomorrow" Ryan exclaimed and Kelsi laughed

"Ryan!" Sharpay yelled trying to find them and succeeding "There you two are, I've been looking all over the place for you. Mr. James wants to talk to you" Sharpay huffed. Ryan rolled his eyes

"Can't you see we're trying to be alone here" Ryan complained

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on Ryan if you don't go in there he will keep bugging me and you know I don't like him" Sharpay shot her tongue out at him

"Fine" Ryan huffed heading back towards the house. Kelsi started to follow him and Sharpay joined her

"What does this guy want with Ryan anyway?" Kelsi asked

"I have no clue he won't tell me, apparently it's for Ryan's eyes only" Sharpay answered. Ryan made his way inside and was immediately ambushed by the lawyer

"Mr. Evans there you are" he bellowed

"Mr. James" Ryan sighed shaking the man's hand

"If you'll come with me to your father's office there is something we need to discuss" the older man said putting an arm around Ryan's shoulders and heading towards Vance's office. Once in there Ryan sat down behind the desk as the older gentleman pulled out his briefcase "Now as you know your father has a will and the reason I wanted to discuss the Will with you right now is of certain importance"

"What do you mean? And don't you need Sharpay and my mom in here too?" Ryan asked

"Well yes but I was given specific instructions to tell you in private Mr. Evans" Mr. James opened his briefcase and found Vance's will on top "Here we go" he said pulling it out, he quickly skimmed over the stuff that he was leaving to various charities to be distributed after Darby was deceased and got to the part concerning Ryan "Well, Mr. Evans" the lawyer smiled "Your father has stated in his will that he leaves everything to you and your sister, but more importantly he leaves the business to you"

* * *

_A/N: Hehe I decided to leave this with a cliffhanger. Whatdya think?_


	16. Chapter 16

Living Without You

**Part 16**

_Wow, nice way to leave a chapter huh??? Hope you all enjoyed it and here is the next chapter to it._

_I will warn you, due to some steam wars going on, and those involved know what I mean, there is some steam in this chapter. Oh and I must also warn you that there is some minor language, but not too much, I'm not a potty mouth. _

_Oh and one last note, I have some bad news and some good news, involving this chapter. The bad news is that this is one of the two last chapters that will be in this story. I feel that it needs to be wrapped up and I'm proud of what I've done with it. The good news is that I've already planned and started work on a sequel to this story, which will be touched on at the end to give it a bit of a running start. _

_Hope you all enjoy and please review. _

* * *

Ryan sat there in shock, as this pompous lawyer of his father's read off the will.

"He what?!?!?!" Ryan yelled jumping out of his seat

"He left you everything." He restated, "the house, the business, the money, it's all yours."

Ryan sat back down with his head in his hands, this had to be a sick cruel joke someone was playing on him. After all his father put him through, with his career, his wardrobe, his love, his life. This was just a cruel sick joke, he started laughing mechanically thinking if he started laughing then the lawyer would too and that would indicate that he was just joking around, but as he looked over at the stocky little man he just sat there stoic. He got up and looked the man in the eyes and walked towards him.

"Sorry, if this is some sick joke I'm not buying" Ryan said "I don't have time for this," he finished as he began to leave the room

"I'm sorry if you feel that way Mr. Evans, but the will clearly states that you are to inherit everything" Mr. James said standing up

"What about my mom huh? What about Sharpay? What do they get?" Ryan said turning around to face the man

"Well Mrs. Evans gets the house in Rhode Island, the Lava Springs country club, and some house you own in California" he responded reading off the will. "And Ms. Evans gets 40 percent of the business, and some house that you own in Colorado"

"Well then guess what? Divide my share up and give it to them, because I don't want it" Ryan yelled storming out. He stomped out of the room and made his way back to the party, he went barreling past Sharpay and his mother and came up to Kelsi trying to put all of what happened out of his mind, but Kelsi saw right through him

"Whats wrong?" Kelsi asked concerned

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" Ryan laughed

"Try me" Kelsi smiled. Ryan smiled warmly at her, no matter what was going on in his life no matter how bad things were she was always there to ground him and keep him level headed.

"Come on," he smiled taking her hand, and walking outside

"Where are you two going?" Sharpay asked as they walked past her. Ryan smiled grabbing her hand taking her with him, he gave a quick nod to Zeke who followed them all outside

"Will you tell me whats going on?" Kelsi asked as they all ended up by the cars. Ryan took a deep breath and looked Kelsi dead in the eyes

"The reason the lawyer wanted to talk to me was because of something dad left me" Ryan sighed

"What did he leave you everything" Sharpay started to laugh but then saw that Ryan wasn't "You're kidding right?"

"I wish I was" Ryan sighed. "He left me the business, well a good chunk of it, and the rest is yours Sharpay. But the house and a lot of money, it just doesn't seem right. Especially after the way things ended before Kelsi and I left"

"Well he must have written the will of before incident" Kelsi said trying to calm Ryan down

"It doesn't matter Kels, I'm not going to stay. I have to go back and finish my duty, you and mom can take over the business Sharpay I'm done" Ryan spat out angrily taking Kelsi's hand and walking away

"No!" Sharpay yelled. which caused Ryan to whip back around

"Excuse me?" Ryan stated

"No, you are not leaving me with this again Ryan Evans" Sharpay demanded

"Sharpay" Ryan laughed "I don't want this, I never wanted this lifestyle. This was always something you were used to, so you take it I'm gone" Ryan huffed and started walking away again which got Sharpay even more upset. She grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her

"Listen to me Ryan, when you left it was horrible, mom was a mess she went around in a daze, she was always getting drunk and every time someone brought up your name all she did was bawl" Sharpay had started to cry but Ryan just rolled his eyes, he wasn't in the mood for his family's theatrics. "Dad was even worse, he took down pictures of you around his office and refused to even hear your name in his presence"

"Typical" Ryan muttered under his breath

"Things were no better for me Ryan, dad wouldn't even talk to me and treated me like crap cause I reminded him of you" Sharpay started to feel the sting of tears leave her eyes and it hurt Ryan to see her like that. He lowered his head and took a deep breath

"Sharpay..I" he stuttered

"Nobody knew not even Zeke" Sharpay sobbed angrily wiping tears from her eyes "I can't stay here alone anymore, not with everything that has happened". Ryan turned his head away from his sister, he had no idea what to say or what to do all he knew is that he still held this intense feeling not of hatred but of something else towards his father. If this was his way of getting Ryan to be on his side and do things the way that he had wanted to he wasn't going to budge

"Sharpay, I'm really sorry" he sighed "But I just can't do this anymore." He embraced her in a loving hug "I'm sorry" he whispered into her ear. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, took Kelsi's hand, walked to his car got in and drove away.

* * *

They drove for a while almost reaching the outskirts of Albuquerque when they arrived at a really nice looking hotel "Come on" he smiled getting out and opening the door for her.

"Ryan?" Kelsi laughed looking at the towering building that was sure to cost a lot of money just to stay a day

"Well I figured we could do one nice thing while we're here" he laughed taking her hand and going inside. They ordered the biggest suite in the building and walked inside

"Wow" Kelsi breathed out, Ryan came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her, she closed her eyes she was in heaven she had her husband back and he was holding her it felt as if nothing in the world could ruin the moment. She looked down at his arm and noticed that he still had not told her what happened "That looks painful" she grimaced. Ryan looked down at his arm

"Well it's nothing" he said quickly trying to change the subject

"Tough over there huh?" She asked hoping he'd talk about it

"It's war, its not a picnic" he sighed letting go of her. He walked away looking out the window to the skyline

"Ryan, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to" Kelsi said trying to keep her voice from wavering

"I know, it's okay it's just all of this. I don't mean to take it out on you" Ryan sighed grabbing her around the waist again

"I love you, you know that right" Kelsi said leaning her head on his chest

"I love you too" Ryan breathed lifting her head so she was looking at him, he looked deeply into her eyes and held his lips a hairs breath away from hers

"Ryan" she breathed feeling herself loose control. He smiled as he started slowly kissing her

"Tell me what you want" he said huskily, he started kissing the nape of her neck and she started to feel her body go numb from his kisses

"I..I..." she stuttered trying to get her head back to normal, she really wanted this and it had been so long since he had touched her, but part of her knew that his emotions were pouring out of him, and this was his way of letting go "Ryan" she said getting a hold of herself and pushing him away lightly "I'm sorry" she blushed. "It's just I.." she felt the blood pour into her cheeks "It's just we've been apart for so long and I've really missed you" Kelsi started to ramble but Ryan pulled her back into his arms and began to kiss her with more passion than before.

Kelsi gave in feeling her knees grow week, Ryan picked her up in one fell swoop and carried her over to the bed. Placing her down gently he slowly started to unbutton the blouse she was wearing while kissing her lovingly on the chest after each button was undone, he noticed the scar that was still healing in the middle of her chest, and took extra care of it kissing it as lightly as he could. Kelsi could feel him near that spot and felt her breath hitch

"Sorry" he breathed as he notice her tense up. "Did I hurt you?" He asked tenderly

"It's okay" she said as she put on a half smile.. "Don't worry about it." He looked deep into her baby blues and felt at peace for once that day, he slowly slipped her shirt off of her shoulders and smiled as he saw her eyes closed in pure enjoyment. He grinned again and pulled her closer to him, as he brushed his hand slowly up down her torso. Kelsi felt a rush of impatience leave her body, Ryan was assaulting her senses and it was driving her insane. She ran her fingers through the stubble that was starting to form on top of his head, it was strange and she had really missed his long blond hair. Before she knew it she was being pulled on top of him, as she was straddling his hips he pulled her closer to him and kissed her with a silent fury.

A while later, spent they laid in bed with Ryan holding as tight as he could onto her kissing her shoulder as she stared out the window of their hotel room. "What you thinking about?" He asked

"Food," she laughed

"We can do that" Ryan said as he rolled out of bed to find a phone and quickly ordered a pizza, "Thanks" he said closing his cell phone and getting back into bed with her "They'll be here in a bit," he grinned returning to the position they were in. They laid there for a good 5 minutes before Kelsi turned around to face Ryan. "You okay?" He asked seeing that she had something on her mind

"It's Sharpay" she sighed, "I feel really bad for leaving her like that" Kelsi said feeling a piece of her heart break at the thought of her sister in law

"She'll be all right Kels" Ryan said stroking her cheek with the back of his hand "She's got Zeke"

"I'm starting to think that's not enough Ryan, I mean with all that has happened, she can't keep expecting to be stuck there" Kelsi was starting to cry and she thought it odd but after all that has happened it didn't matter what kind of past her and Sharpay shared.

"Well what do you think we should do let her move in with us?" Ryan half joked

"That wouldn't be too much of a terrible idea" Kelsi said

"I don't think so Kels, I mean you know what it's like. Us living together is a bad idea" he defended

"Ryan for better or worse, she is your sister, and you can't just let her stay in a house that's no longer home for her" Kelsi felt herself get more upset, it felt weird that she was defending the same person who used to boss her around, but on the other hand she was so confident on her convictions of not letting Sharpay stay and rot "Maybe she can get into Julliard like she had wanted to." Ryan layed there and stared at her as if she had grown an extra head

"Kelsi, I'm just not sure" Ryan began as the bell rang. Ryan jumped out of bed got a robe on and answered the door

"Your pizza sir" the delivery boy answered, Ryan took the pizza, paid him, and went back inside the room. Kelsi was just getting out of bed and putting on a robe herself when went back towards the bed sitting the box between them.

"Who says we cant eat in bed?" he grinned as he handed her a slice. Kelsi giggled as she took the slice from him, they sat in silence eating for a while when Ryan finally spoke up "All right" he sighed sounding defeated

"I'm sorry" Kelsi said putting down the crust from her pizza

"All right she can move in" Ryan said. Kelsi jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, he laughed as she started kissing his neck "I think the rest can wait" he said pushing aside the pizza box to roll Kelsi over onto her back. He started to kiss her deeply again.

* * *

A few hours later they were making their way back to the Evans estate, they pulled into the driveway, and made their way inside. The place was well cleaned up knowing that not too long ago there were at least a hundred people there for the wake, he looked around for Sharpay and slowly found Zeke who was sitting on the couch watching a basketball game

"Hey bro" he smiled seeing Ryan and Kelsi come into the living room

"Where is everyone?" Ryan asked sitting down

"Your mom went to bed, and Shar said she had a headache so I told her to go lay down" Zeke answered flipping the TV off "So where did you two run off to?"

"Went to get a hotel" Kelsi smiled sitting down next to Ryan and taking his hand. Zeke had a knowing smile on his face and shook his head

"Well at least you two are married this time" he joked. Ryan was about to get offended but he honestly didn't have the strength to. "I better go check on her" he said standing up

"I'll do it" Ryan answered, "besides I need to talk to her about something" he finished taking Kelsi's hand and heading upstairs. Kelsi couldn't help but giggle as she saw the funny look on Zeke's face. As they arrived at Sharpay's door, Ryan knocked softly and heard Sharpay's voice on the other end

"Zeke, I don't need to be checked on like a baby" Sharpay grumbled

"It's me Shar open up" Ryan said trying not to laugh

"Ryan?" She said anger dripping from her voice "What are you doing here? Thought you didn't want to be here"

"Just open up Shar" Ryan said trying to keep his cool

"No I think if you want to talk to me you can say what you need to that door, it should listen better then you do anyway." She spat back

"Shar if you don't open up, I'll tell all the magazines when you're famous that you're not a natural blond" Ryan smiled he knew that would get her to answer the door, and was not disappointed when Sharpay ripped the door open

"All right then, I'll tell Kelsi that you insisted on frosting your hair before the senior year production" Sharpay said with an evil smile on her face. Then she saw Kelsi "Oh well too late" she laughed

"Very funny Shar." Ryan said sarcastically. "Can we come in?" Sharpay sighed deeply, in her heart all she wanted to do was slam the door in his face tell him to fuck off and never come back again. But it was her brother and he'd never do anything like that to her, she stole a quick glance at Kelsi who was trying not to be seen

"All right come in" she said stepping aside. Kelsi and Ryan both entered the room, and Kelsi bolted for the nearest chair as Ryan sat down on her bed

"Look Shar, I'm sorry about earlier." Ryan said intently staring at his hands "It's just now being married, and having other things going on in my life. I didn't want to be dragged back into this mess"

"You don't have to say anything Ryan, you have Kelsi, and a life I understand" Sharpay crossed her arms and looked over at Kelsi

"I do, I love you Shar probably more than you know, and I can't stand back and watch the one person in my family that makes sense...Well at least most of the time." he laughed. "Stay here in a place that's no good for her." Sharpay smiled, she appreciated that Ryan understood her plight.

"Thanks Ry" she smiled crossing the room to give him a hug, "so when do you have to go back to Afghanistan?" She asked

"Not for a few weeks, actually the reason I wanted to talk was about the three of us" Ryan smiled nodding at Kelsi

"The three of us?" Sharpay asks cocking an eyebrow

"Well Kelsi and I did some talking, and we figured that New York was more your dream then it was mine, and we want you to move back with us so you can attend Julliard" he rambled a bit nervous on what her response would be

"You're kidding right?" Sharpay asked shocked thinking Ryan had lost his mind. Kelsi felt this was the time to speak up

"We're serious Shar" Kelsi smiled. "We want you to be some place that you can be happy, and we're not moving to LA so New York will have to do for now." Sharpay looked at Kelsi and then looked at Ryan again. New York? This was insane why would she move there, things would definitely go better than they were here but New York? She was over come with excitement and worry at the same time. If she did move in with them would she be interfering in their lives? Would they want her to move out after a while? She took another deep breath and re-considered her options again.

"Okay, only on one condition" she concluded

"What's that?" Ryan asked

"You take over the business like daddy wanted you to" Sharpay crossed her arms

"Sharpay" Ryan said standing up "I will not do that"

"Ryan you have to, if any one else does it, it'll just screw things up and mom is definitely not the right one for the job" she answered

"Sharpay," he was going to argue his point but saw no hope in it. She was right the vice-president under his dad was a complete idiot who didn't know his ass from his elbow, and his mom had definitely changed. He took a deep breath and looked over at Kelsi with worry in his eyes "What do you think Kels?"

"Well, for once I'd have to agree with Sharpay here. I mean you're always telling me about Mr. Myers, and how incompetent he is, and how he almost put your dad into bankruptcy one to many times. Maybe you are what Evans Inc. needs" Kelsi reasoned.

Ryan smiled at Kelsi and looked into Sharpay's eyes again, this was going to be another life changer and he knew it.

"I guess I'll have to make some calls then" he announced. Sharpay enveloped him in a bone crushing hug and Kelsi came over and kissed him with passion

"All right you two I know this is a room, but its not yours so cut that out" Sharpay said looking disgusted. Kelsi and Ryan pulled apart to see Zeke standing at the door with a tray of food in his hands presumably for Sharpay

"What's going on?" He asked, Ryan and Kelsi took their leave as Sharpay pulled Zeke into her room and shut the door.

"You think he'll understand?" Kelsi asked Ryan

"He knows its her dream, I'm sure he'll support her" Ryan smiled putting an arm around her and walking back downstairs.

* * *

As Ryan and Kelsi left the room Zeke looked up at Sharpay with his beautiful eyes

"Whats going on princess?" He asked as sweetly and timidly as he could. Sharpay took his hands and led him over to her bed, he sat down but didn't let go of her hand

"Ryan and Kelsi want me to move to New York with them" Sharpay said

"Really?" He asked fear, excitement, and hurt dripping from his voice

"Yeah, Zeke I know that its not to far from Maryland but I really want to do this, New York has been my dream since I was a little girl, and I don't want to pass up an opportunity like this" Sharpay said tears stinging her eyes. Zeke nodded and started to feel the sting of tears in his own eyes

"I understand" he nodded sadly

"Zeke" Sharpay said timidly "You have always been my first love, and I know we can work this out." She was about to continue but was cut of by his lips crashing down on hers.

A while later Sharpay laid on Zeke's chest, she was quietly humming to herself as she traced a finger along his chest smiling, he kissed her on top of the head and took a deep breath

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked smiling

"You should go with Ryan and Kelsi..." Zeke felt the smile leave his lips, "...and I think if you really want this dream to come true then maybe we should break up."

Sharpay couldn't believe what she was hearing, and felt the sting of tears come to her eyes again "Get out." she whispered to him

"Shar, I'm sorry." he said trying to redeem himself

"Get out!" she screamed throwing him out of bed. She got up and started throwing his clothes at him. Zeke got dressed as fast as he could and made his way to the door, he turned around so that he could look at her one more time.

"I really am sorry." he said trying to hide the tears that were threatening to fall, and shut the door. Sharpay watched him leave and fell back onto her bed sobbing.

"Son of a bitch." she said sobbing herself to sleep.

* * *

_Hope you all really enjoyed, and since I have the flow going the last chapter shouldn't be too far behind. _

_Again please review by pressing that funny lil button down there. I really do appreciate all reviews._


	17. Chapter 17

Living Without You

**Part 17**

_Well here it is the very last chapter, I know don't cry it'll be all right. This one is gonna be short, basically it's a wrap up of the entire story._

_Please review. _

* * *

It was a few days later and after many hours of comforting Sharpay, Ryan and Kelsi decided they needed some time for just them. It wasn't much but while Ryan was laying on top of Kelsi's stomach after making love for the third time that night, it was still heaven to him.

"I think I need a break." Ryan smiled kissing her stomach again. Kelsi ran an hand over her face and sighed

"Yeah I think third times a charm for me." she giggled. "So you ready for tomorrow?" she asked

"You mean going in front of my superiors, and asking to be discharged?" Ryan sighed worrying just a bit. "Not really, but I can't be in another country and run things here."

"It will be easy, besides I'll be there to support you." Kelsi smiled rubbing the top of his head

* * *

Daylight came and Ryan and Kelsi were busy dressing for the day. Kelsi chose a subtle blue dress as Ryan dressed in his dress uniform, he was just adjusting his tie when Kelsi walked in

"Wow," she breathed. "Maybe you should ask if you can keep that" she smiled sauntering over to him, and kissing him deeply. Ryan laughed as he set her up on top of the counter, and started kissing her back, it was about to be turned into more until there was a knock on the door.

"Who the heck could that be?" Ryan said pulling away

"Let em wait" Kelsi said, pulling Ryan back to her lips

"If you two don't let me in, I'm going to bust down this door" Sharpay yelled. Ryan pulled away from Kelsi laughing

"She has a way with words doesn't she?" Kelsi laughed, as she fixed Ryan's tie and went to answer the door

"Finally what the heck were you two doing?" Sharpay said letting herself in

"And good morning to you too Shar" Kelsi smiled shutting the door behind her

"You two ready?" She asked finding a chair and plopping down in it

"Yeah, Ryan's fixing his tie" Kelsi smiled as she saw Ryan enter the room.

"We ready to go?" Kelsi asked taking Ryan's hand, he let out a nervous breath, and made his way out the door.

They drove for a while before they reached the base where his superiors were stationed at that time, they were sitting outside the room where the generals were making a decision on another soldiers case.

"Nervous?" Sharpay asked

"Kind of" Ryan squeaked out. "I mean these men are going to decide my fate, why wouldn't I be?" They sat there in silence as another private came out of the room with a smile on his face. They watched him walk out and were soon greeted by the page who let them into the room. Ryan walked in front of the generals and gave them all a crisp salute

"At ease Private Evans" an older man who seemed to run things ordered. "You've come before us today to ask for a honorary discharge, is that correct?" he asked

"Yes sir," Ryan said in a clear voice. "As you know my father died a week ago, and he has left the family business to me, I need to leave the army to carry on the business."

"This council has gone over your written statements, and we agree that you have served your country well, and even though we never like to loose a solider your commitment to your family comes first" the general said over his thick glasses. "We hereby grant you an honorary discharge from the United States Army, you are allowed to return to being a private citizen Mr. Evans." The general finished as he stood with the rest of the council and saluted Ryan.

"Thank you sir, this means a lot to me." Ryan answered saluting them back. Kelsi walked up to Ryan and embraced him.

"I'm so happy." she gushed kissing him.

"Congratulations little brother." Sharpay smiled hugging him also.

"Well that's one thing down." Ryan sighed taking Kelsi's hand and walking off the base.

"When do you have to meet with Mr. James?" Kelsi asked.

"Not till tomorrow." Ryan smiled at his wife.

* * *

They made their way back to the Evans mansion to help Sharpay finish packing up some of her stuff

"You know our apartment isn't that big right Shar?" Kelsi asked as she taped up a large box containing her shoes

"I know some of this is going to storage until I find a place of my own" Sharpay smiled placing the contents of her bedside drawers into a box

"Shar you don't have to move out" Kelsi interjected

"Come on Kelsi you can't have me living there forever, I'm going to have to move out eventually" she smiled

"Okay" Ryan said coming into the doorway "The movers and I've got room for your bed in the truck. Is this about it?" he asked seeing the mountain of boxes by the door

"Yep" Sharpay smiled grabbing a box, and heading downstairs

"This is going to be a riot isn't it?" Kelsi joked

"Exactly how many boxes did she need for her shoes?" Ryan asked as he saw that most of the boxes were labeled "shoes"

"This would make five" Kelsi laughed as she capped the marker

"Well, I promise you it will get better" Ryan smiled kissing his wife, and taking the box downstairs

"I hope so" she sighed to herself grabbing another one and following Ryan. They met Sharpay outside who was arguing with one of the men who was shoving a box of her drama things into the truck

"Yeah, just shove it in there that will work" she screeched

"Shar calm down, they're professional they know what they're doing" Ryan sighed

"Well he's going to have my foot shoved up his butt if any of my trophies are damaged" Sharpay yelled shooting the mover a dirty look. Kelsi sighed and set down the box she was carrying watching with humor as Sharpay tried to order the movers around. Ryan had gone back into the house to grab more boxes so Kelsi had just decided to sit down and take a breather. After a few minutes she was set to go back into the house when a car pulled up into the driveway, it was a car Kelsi had never seen before and by the looks of the person sitting in the drivers seat he was there for business, Kelsi had thought it had something to do with Ryan but when the man walked up to her she gave him a weak smile.

"Kelsi Evans?" The man asked approaching her

"Yes that's me, who are you" she asked

"You've been served" he said handing her an envelope, he said no more walked back to his car and drove away. Kelsi looked down at the envelope in her hands and looked back up at the car as it drove away.

"What the heck?" she asked as she looked at the envelope in her hands, Sharpay stopped arguing with the movers long enough to see the man drive off and walked up to Kelsi wandering what was going on

"What was that all about?" Sharpay asked as Kelsi was opening the letter, her mouth was agape as she read off the paper

"It's a court summons," she sighed. "They need me to testify against the man who attacked me"

"What?" Sharpay practically screamed, ripping the envelope from Kelsi's hands and reading it herself "They can't do that can they?"

"Well apparently they can" Kelsi said

"Can what?" Ryan asked coming out with a box in his hands

"Court summons" Sharpay answered thrusting the paper into Ryan's hands. He read it over a few times trying to wrap his mind around it. Kelsi sat down on the curb with her head in her hands

"It's been six months why would they do this now?" she asked staring at the ground

"I don't know honey" Ryan said sitting down next to her "Let me call Mr. James so he can look over this," he said grabbing his cell phone and quickly dialing the lawyers number. Kelsi kept taking deep breaths just to keep herself from throwing up

"I can't believe this" she just kept repeating

"It's going to be okay Kels" Sharpay whispered rubbing her back "Maybe Mr. James can get you out of it." Ryan came back shaking his head

"He's on his way" he said sitting down next to Kelsi who wrapped her arms around him "It'll be all right" he soothed. Ten minutes Mr. James showed up carrying his briefcase

"Mr. Evans" he said shaking Ryan's hand. "Whats the problem? I thought we were meeting till tomorrow"

"Well my wife needs you right now" he said handing the court summons to him, he read over it frowning slightly

"It's a court summons Mrs. Evans" he said handing her back the paper

"She's aware of that Roger," Ryan said feeling his face get red "Is it binding does she have to appear in court?"

"Unfortunately yes," he sighed "But if you want we can make it so she doesn't actually have to appear in court"

"No" Kels spoke up "if I have to face this bastard, then I'm going to do it just to make sure he rots in jail for the rest of his life"

"Kels" Ryan argued "They don't need you to physically be there, besides I don't think its healthy for you to do it"

"Ryan this is something I have to do, I can't let this man dictate how I live my life anymore" she answered "I'm doing it, end of conversation." She walked away from the group kicking a box on her way out and cursing

* * *

**A few days later**

"Shar I'm not letting you put some of your things in our room" Ryan argued as Sharpay was insisting to put some of her boxes in there "Half of the apartment is already filled with them I can barley get around"

"Fine" she sighed dropping a box in the hallway with a loud thud

"Where did Kelsi say she was going? She kinda bolted out of here after breakfast" Ryan said looking through some of his mail

"She had to go to the pharmacy her stomachache hasn't been getting better" Sharpay answered opening a box

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing in a particular aisle Kelsi was staring deeply at a particular item

"I don't think I am" she argued with herself "I mean its just a stomachache, I can't be" she said abandoning the aisle and looking for the pepto bismol, sighing really loudly and walking back towards the aisle where the pregnancy tests were. "Oh it wont hurt to check" she said as she closed her eyes and grabbed a pregnancy test. She grabbed a bottle of pepto bismol on the way out, and made her way home. She was approaching the door when Ryan met her in the hallway

"Hey honey," he said giving her a kiss

"Hey" she smiled hiding the bag. "Where you running off to?"

"Got to go make some copies of the files I got yesterday, I shouldn't be too long" he said making his way out into the cold New York air.

"Good" Kelsi sighed "I have time to get this done with while he's gone." She opened the door to their apartment, and walked inside "Sharpay you here?" she called out

"Back room" she answered "Did you get it?" she asked

"Yeah right here, you still think I am?" Kelsi asked

"Come on Kelsi, you've been throwing up for three days now either you have the flu or you're pregnant" Sharpay reasoned "Now get in there and find out if I have a niece or nephew or not" she said shoving her into the bathroom. A few anxious minutes later Kelsi stood starring at the test

"Two lines" she sighed and looked at the instructions "Oh boy," she sighed and started pacing the bathroom she felt like she was going to be sick. She sat down on the toilet and starred at the test and the instructions again to make sure she read them right. She had started to cry when there was a knock on the door

"Well what does it say?" Sharpay asked loudly. Kelsi wiped her eyes. and stood up hoping her knees wouldn't give out and opened the door. Kelsi shoved the test in Sharpay's hand

"Does this mean yes?" She asked, Kelsi just nodded her head and started to feel the tears sting her eyes again but was promptly picked up by Sharpay in a hug "That's great" she yelled

"Thanks" Kelsi grunted, "but I'm pretty sure bone crushing hugs aren't good for the baby." She laughed as Sharpay let go of her

"I'm so happy for you two" she grinned. "How are you going to tell Ryan?"

"Tell me what?" Ryan asked standing in the door way. Now both Kelsi and Sharpay felt like they were going to be sick

"Well your wife has some exciting news," Sharpay said pushing Kelsi forward. Kelsi took a deep breath and looked deep into Ryan's eyes, this was going to be harder than she thought. As she saw him starring at her with his deep blue eyes, she took a big gulp of air and handed the test over to Ryan

"Is this?" He asked excitement in his voice, she nodded and smiled. "And does this mean we're?" he pressed on, and Kelsi gave a small nod. Ryan looked back down at the test again and up at his wife. This had to be the best news he had received in a long time, he picked Kelsi up and started kissing her deeply "I love you" he said setting her down. He got down on his knees and held his ear to her stomach "Hey little one" he cooed, "I'm your daddy, and I can't wait to meet you." Sharpay smiled at the scene in front of her from the door way, sometimes her brother could be so cheesy, but why wouldn't he be he was going to be a daddy. She smiled as she saw him start to sing to Kelsi's stomach it was cheesy but Ryan seemed to be too lost in the moment to care.

* * *

_All right guys that's its, expect the sequel in the next few weeks or sooner who knows. _

_Oh and before I get any guff cause I forgot to mention it in the beginning. I have no clue what goes on when someone asks to be discharged from the army, I'm pretty sure what I said isn't it but it's the only thing I could think of_


End file.
